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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
John Barton Payne, Secretary 



United States Geological Survey 

George Otis Smith, Director 



Water-supply Paper 449 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA 
CONNECTICUT 



BY 



GERALD A. WARING 



Prepared in cooperation with the 

CONNECTICUT STATE GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 

Herbert E. Gregory, Superintendent 





WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1920 




Pass (a; Ij 
Book__Xi 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/groundwaterinmerOOwari 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
John Barton Payne, Secretary 



United States Geological Survey 

George Otis Smith, Director 



Water- Supply Paper 449 



3? 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA 
CONNECTICUT 



BY 



GERALD A. WARING 



Prepared in cooperation with the . 

CONNECTICUT STATE GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 

Herbert E. Gregory, Superintendent 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1920 



*$* 



LIBRARY Of CONGRESS 
DOCUMENT^ ,.olON 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Introduction 5 

Geography 7 

Geology 10 

Ground- water supplies 13 

Water in stratified drift '. 13 

Water in till 13 

Water in Triassic rocks 14 

Water in trap rock 14 

Water in ancient crystalline rocks 14 

Availability of ground-water supplies 14 

Well construction ! 17 

Quality of ground water 19 

Descriptions of towns 21 

Berlin 21 

Cromwell 2 32 

Meriden '_ 40 

Middlefield 52 

Middletown 59 

Rocky Hill _ 72 

Index 81 

3 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 

Plate I. Map of Connecticut, showing physiographic divisions and areas 
covered by water-supply papers of the United States Geo- 
logical Survey 6 

II. Map of the Meriden area, Conn., showing glacial deposits, 
rock outcrops, and the locations of typical wells and 
springs In pocket. 

III. Map of the Meriden area, Conn., showing bedrock geology and 

structure sections In pocket. 

IV. Map of the Meriden area, Conn., showing woodlands In pocket. 

V. A, Hanging Hills, Meriden, Conn., from Buckwheat Hill ; B, 

Black Pond, Meriden, Conn., from the north . 8 

VI. A, Esker near Baileyville, Berlin, Conn. ; B, Stratified drift 

near Harbor Brook, Meriden, Conn : 12 

VII. A, Cliff of trap in Cathole Gorge, Meriden, Conn. ; B, Boulder- 
strewn field near Harbor Brook, Meriden, Conn 42 

Figuee 1. Diagram showing annual precipitation at Middletown, Conn., 

1859-1913, inclusive 9 

2. Diagram showing average monthly precipitation at Middle- 

town, Conn., 1859-1913, inclusive 9 

3. Diagram showing depths to water in dug wells in the Meriden 

area, Conn., in May, 1915 16 

4. Curve showing population of the town of Berlin, Conn 22 

5. Curve showing population of the town of Cromwell, Conn 34 

6. Curves showing population of the town and city of Meriden, 

Conn.i : 42 

7. Diagram showing monthly discharge of Quinnipiac River at 

outlet of Hanover Pond, Meriden, Conn . 45 

8. Curve of population of the town of Middlefield, Conn 53 

9. Curves of population of the town and city of Middletown, 

Conn 61 

10. Curve of population of the town of Rocky Hill, Conn 74 

4 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, 
CONNECTICUT. 



By Gerald A. Waking. 



INTRODUCTION. 

In a water-supply paper issued by the United States Geological 
Survey in 1904 1 a list of more than 500 wells and springs in Connecti- 
cut was published, together with a brief paragraph on the water-bear- 
ing rocks and several analyses of water from wells and springs. A 
similar report, issued in 1905, contains an article on drilled wells in 
the Triassic area of the Connecticut Valley 2 and specifically describes 
about 160 wells in the area. The same publication also contains an 
article on the Triassic rocks as a source of water 3 and a list of 16 
analyses of well and spring waters. In the same year a summary 
of the conditions affecting the occurrence of ground water through- 
out the State was published. 4 A report issued in 1903 s discusses 
the different kinds of rocks in the State and their water-bearing 
capacity and gives tabulated data for about 800 wells. 

These earlier reports treated of the State as a whole, or of large* 
parts of it, and were necessarily general in character. The increas- 
ing need for potable water for municipal and farm use made it ad- 
visable to undertake a more detailed study of the State, and this 
study was undertaken by the United States Geological Survey under 
cooperative agreement with the Connecticut State Geological and 
Natural History Survey. As a result eight reports (including the 
present paper) have been issued or are in preparation covering the 
areas indicated on Plate I. 

The field examination on which this report is based was done 
under the direction of Prof. IT. E. Gregory during six weeks in 

1 Gregory, II. E., Notes on the wells, springs, and general water resources of certain 
eastern and central States; Connecticut: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 102, 
pp. 127-168, 1904. 

- Pynchon, W. H. C, Drilled wells of the Triassic area of the Connecticut Valley : U. S. 
Geol. Surrey Water-Supply Paper 110, pp. 65-94, 1905. 

3 Fuller, M. L., Triassic rocks of the Connecticut Valley as a source of water supply ; 
U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 110, pp. 95-112, 1905. 

4 Gregory, H. E., Underground waters of eastern United States ; Connecticut ; I'. S. 
Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 114, pp. 76-81, 1905. 

5 Gregory, II. E., and Ellis, E. E., Underground water resources of Connecticut, with a 
study of the occurrence of water in crystalline rocks : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 
Paper 232, 1909. 

5 



6 GROUND WATER I-N" THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

April and May, 1915. The area covered comprises about 137 square 
miles and includes the towns of Berlin, Cromwell, Meriden, Middle- 
field, Middletown, and Rocky Hill. The work consisted chiefly in 
•collecting records of a sufficient number of wells in each town to 
furnish adequate data concerning the ground water. In connection 
with this study, the Pleistocene glacial deposits — till and stratified 
drift — which cover nearly all the surface, were carefully observed, 
and as they differ considerably in their water-bearing capacity, they 
were separately mapped (see PL II, in pocket) as well as could be 
done in the time available for the work. The till consists of un- 
assorted gravel, sand, and clay, deposited by the glacial ice sheet as 
it melted, and in general is not a good water bearer, because its 
heterogeneous material is unfavorable to the easy circulation of 
ground water. The stratified drift consists of bedded deposits of 
glacial materials which were to some extent assorted and redepositecl 
by streams that were formed largely by the melting ice, and because 
the materials are thus assorted the circulation of ground water is 
generalty freer in these deposits than in the unassorted deposits of 
till. The map (PL II) shows the areas covered by stratified drift 
as determined with special reference to water-bearing capacity. 
Detailed study of the glacial geology of the region based on the 
origin and source of the material would probably result in consider- 
able changes in the geologic boundaries, especially in places where 
the transition from stratified drift to till is obscure. 

Exposures of the bedrock underlying the glacial material were 
also noted (see PL II, in pocket), but the map of bedrock geology 
and its structure (PL III, in pocket) is copied with only slight 
changes from geologic maps of the region, prepared by Davis x and 
by Gregory and Robinson. 2 This map of the bedrock structure is 
reproduced with the present report because it is believed that it 
will be of assistance to property owners and to drillers in forecasting 
the kind of material that will be encountered in drilling- wells, 
Throughout the area the successive rock formations are present in 
the order in which they are shown in the legend of Plate III. The 
first rock encountered at any place in the area will be that indicated 
by the color at that point on the map, and this rock is in most places 
successively underlain by the other formations in the order indicated 
in the legend. For example, in sinking wells in the city of Meriden 
the first rock reached is the lower sandstone, and this material 
continues for many hundred feet down to the ancient crystalline 
rocks, except, possibly, where it may be interrupted by dike rocks. 

1 Davis, W. M., The Triassie formation of Connecticut : I T . S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth 
Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pis. 19 and 20, 1898. 

2 Gregory, H. E., and Robinson, H. H., Preliminary geological map of Connecticut : 
Connecticut Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, I907. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 449 PLATE 




MAP "THE PRESENT 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 449 PLATE 1 




MAP OF CONNECTICUT SHOWING MAIN PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS AND AREAS TREATED IN THE PRESENT 
AND OTHER DETAILED WATER-SUPPLY PAPERS OF THE U. S . GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



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INTRODUCTION'. 7 

At Middletown, however, the i i it rock encountered is the upper 
sandstone, and this rock is believed to be successively underlain by 
trap sheets and by other sandstones thai extend for several thousand 
feel down to the crystalline rocks; A Eew exceptions to the regular 
succession of the beds may be found in localities close to the fault 
zones, where blocks of the different rocks have been broken off and 
shifted from their normal positions. Such displacement and crush- 
ing may explain the presence of trap rock in the Worthington 
School well, at Berlin village (Berlin well 4<>. p. 31), though the 
geologic struct ure at this place (section C-D, PL III) indicates that 
the trap is several hundred feet below the surface. It is probable 
also that there are minor faults whose presence has not been detected. 
The wooded areas were mapped incidentally (see PL IV, in pocket) 
because they affect to some extent the storage of ground water. The 
maps in this report also show certain changes in the roads and other 
cultural features that have taken place since the area w T as mapped 
topographically by the Lmited States Geological Survey. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

The State of Connecticut may be divided into three physiographic 
provinces — the central lowland, the eastern highland, and the western 
highland. (See PL I.) 

The area described in this report is in the south-central part of the 
State, and is chiefly in the central lowland, or Connecticut Valley, 
but its southeastern end lies in the eastern highland. From Con- 
necticut River, which borders it both on the north and the east, the 
highland area rises in steep slopes that culminate in hills more than 
GOO feet in elevation. The surface of the lowland to the west is also 
broken by numerous hills and ridges, but the greater part of it is 
less than 300 feet above sea level, and it is dotted with lakes, ponds, 
and marshes. 

In the part of the central lowland here considered the hills and 
ridges trend uniformly north-northeast. The most prominent ridge 
in the entire lowland area of the State is that which forms the Hang- 
ing Hills (PL V, A) 2 or 3 miles northwest of Meriden and which 
attains its maximum height, 1.007 feet above sea level, in West Peak. 

Connecticut River is a quarter of a mile in average width where it 
borders the Meriden area, and it is affected by the tide for some dis- 
tance farther upstream, to the city of Hartford. Mattabesset River, 
which drains nu :t of the area and enters the Connecticut near Mid- 
dletown, is also affected by the tide for several miles above its mouth. 
Quinnipiac River, which crosses the southwestern corner and receives 
the drainage of the southwestern part of the area, falls 60 feet in the 
10 miles between South Meriden and the tidal limit at Quinnipiac. 



8 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CON^T. 

About 30 per cent of the Meriden area is wooded (see PL IV, in 
pocket), chiefly with chestnut, oak, and maple. Practically all the 
woods consist of second or later growths, the mature trees having 
long ago been cut for timber or for fuel. Numerous wood lots in the 
farming areas furnish fuel and posts for local use, but the lower 
lands, originally heavily wooded, have been cleared and are given 
over to agriculture. 

The cities of Meriden and Middletown — the principal centers of 
population — are in the towns of the same names in the southwestern 
and southeastern parts, respectively, of the area. Each of the other 
four towns — Berlin, Cromwell, Middlefield, and Rocky Hill — con- 
tains a village named for the town, and a few other communities are 
scattered throughout the area. Meriden and Middletown are manu- 
facturing cities, carrying on factory and foundry industries. At 
most of the villages there are also factories and mills, but hay 
farming, fruit raising, and dairying occupy a large part of the 
population. 

Transportation facilities in this part of Connecticut are good. The 
main line of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad passes 
through the city of Meriden and the village at Berlin station; the 
Valley division follows the western bank of Connecticut River and 
passes through the city of Middletown and the villages of Cromwell 
and Rocky Hill; and the Air Line division passes through Middle- 
field and Middletown. Trolley lines connect Middletown, Meriden, 
and Berlin stations and neighboring villages. The Connecticut still 
affords transportation between river towns, but navigation on this 
old trade route has become of minor importance. 

The climate of the region is not severe, the latest killing frost 
usually being in the last part of April, 1 and the earliest in the last 
part of October. 2 The mean annual temperature is about 47° F. s 

The average precipitation is about 48 inches and is fairly evenly 
distributed throughout the year, as shown in figures 1 and 2. 

These average figures of temperature and precipitation are be- 
lieved to represent closely the conditions throughout the greater 
part of the Meriden area. In the lowlands bordering Connecticut 
and Mattabesset rivers and on the higher ridges the winter tempera- 
tures are probably somewhat lower, however, and on the ridges the 
precipitation is doubtless somewhat greater than at Middletown- the 
only station in the area for which a long record is at hand. 

1 Henry, A. H., Climatology of the United States: U. S. Dept. Agr. Weather Bureau 
Bull. Q, pi. 20, 1906. 

2 Idem, pi. 19. 

8 Idem, p. 122 ; record for Southington, Conn. 



V. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 449 PLATE V 

























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A. HANGING HILLS, MERIDEN, CONN., FROM BUCKWHEAT HILL. 




B. BLACK POND, MERIDEN, CONN., FROM THE NORTH. 



GEOLOGY. 




Figure 1. — Diagram showing annual precipitation at Middle-town, Conn., 1850-1913, 

inclusive. 



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Figuke 2. — Diagram showing average monthly precipitation at Middletown, Conn. 

1859-1913, inclusive. 



10 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

GEOLOGY. 

The sandstones, shales, and lavas of the Meriden area are Triassic 
in age; the ancient crystalline rocks are the altered equivalents of 
sediments and igneous rocks which, during Paleozoic time, occupied 
all Connecticut. Toward the close of the Paleozoic era the previously 
deposited rocks were folded, broken and uplifted into mountains, 
and during the long period of erosion that followed the ranges, 
peaks, and gorges of these Paleozoic mountains were worn into 
groups of hills separated by shallow valleys. It is believed that 
at the close of the Paleozoic era central Connecticut was one of 
these wide-floored valleys near sea level or perhaps submerged. 
Into this valley was carried rock waste — sand, gravel, and mud — 
from the surrounding highlands. During the early part of the 
Triassic period the bottom of the valley was not much lower than 
its rim, but while sediments were being deposited the floor of the 
valley was broken and its east side was dropped much lower than 
the border. This great displacement deepened the valley and the 
thick deposits of sand and mud were gradually hardened to sand- 
stone and shale. At three periods during the deposition of Triassic 
sediments molten rock made its way to the surface and spread widely 
as lava flows. As a result of sedimentation and igneous activity the 
Triassic deposits between the surface and the floor of the ancient 
valley form the following sequence : 

1. Sandstone and shale (surface). 

2. Lava. 

3. Sandstone and shale. 

4. Lava. 

5. Sandstone and shale. 

6. Lava. 

7. Sandstone and conglomerate. 

At the end of the Triassic period, or perhaps early in the suc- 
ceeding Jurassic period, a mountain-making uplift took place in 
Connecticut. The sandstones and lavas in the Connecticut lowland 
were broken by faults and tilted into a series of ridges with steep 
westward and gentle eastward slope. A period of erosion, very 
long even in geologic time, then followed. Rivers on the land and 
the waves of the sea wore down the surface of the entire region — 
ancient highlands and uplifted lowlands alike — to an undulating 
plain, above which scattered hills rose a few hundred feet. 

During the Tertiary period the region was again uplifted, and 
though the earth movements were not so great as those of earlier 
times, they increased the slope and activity of the streams and thus 
gave new impetus to erosive processes that have carved the whole 
region into the prominent hills and valleys that now form its main 
features. Triassic rocks have been worn down much more than the 



GEOLOGY. 11 

more resistant ancient crystalline rocks on each side, so thai a low- 
land, comparable with the greater depression of Triassic time, ha 
again been formed, bounded by an eastern and a western highland, 
as indicated in Plate I. Where the edges of the hard Layers of trap 
reek were brought to the surface by the extensive faulting late in 
Triassic or early in .Jurassic time, they have resisted erosion more 
than the so£tei shales and sandstones with which they are inter- 
bedded, and they now stand out in many places as prominent ridges 
in the lowland. 

During the Pleistocene or glacial epoch all Connecticut probably 
A\as covered several times by great sheets of ice, which in its slow 
movement southward scoured off the soil that had been formed bj 
the weathering of the rocks. When the last of the ice sheets melted, 
however, it deposited large quantities of gravel, sand, and clay that 
it had gathered up and thus formed a new coating of loose material 
over the bedrock; otherwise the greater part of the region would, 
to-day consist of bare, rocky slopes on which agriculture would be 
practically impossible. 

Since the disappearance of the ice there has been little change in 
the surface features of the Meriden area. The greater part of the 
area is included in the area of Triassic deposition, and the most 
prominent ridges in it are formed by the broken and tilted edges of 
the thickest of the three trap sheets. 

These three sheets of trap rock, which have become known as the 
" Anterior " or lower sheet, the " Main " sheet, and the " Posterior " 
or upper sheet, have in this area thicknesses, respectively, of about 
250 feet, 400 to 500 feet, and 100 to 150 feet. The " Posterior " and 
" main " sheets are separated by about 1,200 feet of sandstone and 
shale. Between the u Main " and " Anterior ,1 sheets the sedimen- 
tary rocks are considerably thinner, but the series of trap sheets 
is both underlain and overlain *by several thousand feet of sandstone 
and shale. The manner in which the rocks have been faulted and 
the prominent ridges have been formed is indicated in the structure 
sections (PI. Ill, in pocket). 1 

Only one noteworthy dike has been found in the area. This dike 
is exposed along the hillside south of the city of Meriden and seems 
to have a maximum width of 15 or 20 yards. 

The southeastern part of the area is underlain by the ancient 
gneisses and other crystalline rocks of the eastern highland. It is 

1 The delineation of bedrock areas and fault lines on this plate is reproduced from the 
map accompanying a detailed report by W. M. Davis on the region ( U. S. Geo!. Survey 
Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pi. 19, 1898), modified slightly in accordance with the pre- 
liminary geological map of Connecticut, prepared by IT. K. Gregory and II. II. IloMns<m 
(Connecticut Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 1907). The structure sections are pat- 
terned after the section by W. M. Davis (U. S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth Ann. Rept.,. pt. 2, 
pi. 20, 1S98) and one by Joseph Barren (Central Connecticut in the geologic past: Con- 
necticut Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 23, fig, 1, 1915). 



12 GROUND WATER IE" THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

an area of rugged hills, but the change from the sedimentary lowland 
to the crystalline highland is not markedly shown by the surface 
features along this part of the boundary zone. 

Although the ice sheet did not materially change the main fea- 
tures of the region by erosion, it caused numerous minor changes 
and produced certain new features, chiefly drumlins, or rounded hills 
of till, and sand plains. In a few places eskers, or long, low ridges 
of stratified drift, like that shown in Plate VI, A, were made by ma- 
terial that was probably deposited along stream channels that were 
formed beneath the ice sheet. 

The most notable changes, however, were due to the diversion of 
drainage by the damming of the former stream channels, either by 
the ice itself of by its deposits of gravel, sand, and clay. The drain- 
age of the main part of the Meriden area by Mattabesset River to the 
Connecticut was probably substantially the same for some time 
prior to the glacial epoch as it is now. The course of Quinnipiac 
River, however, from Southington to New Haven is believed to have 
been more direct in Tertiary time than it is now. Some geologists 
consider that its present course through southwestern Meriden was 
adopted after the glacial epoch, because of obstruction of its pre- 
glacial channel farther west by deposits left by the melting ice. The 
theory that Quinnipiac Gorge has been cut since the glacial epoch 
has been questioned by Ward, 1 who believes that the river cut this 
gorge in preglacial time. He suggests that relatively slight upwarp- 
ing of the bedrock along an axis trending N. 70° W. may have di- 
verted the river eastward from an earlier, more direct course. ' 

The unstratified glacial material-, or till, covers nearly all the 
higher lands. Along the stream valleys the glacial materials were 
to some extent sorted by water from the melting ice, and the gravel, 
sand, and clay were redeposited in more of less stratified layers, as 
is shown in Plate VI, B. This stratified drift and the till have 
been separately shown on the map of the surface geology (PL II, in 
pocket) because of their different characteristics as water-bearing 
formations. 

The glacial material completely covered the region, but in general 
the layer of unconsolidated deposits is only a few feet thick. Over 
most of the higher lands it is too thin to be of value as a water carrier, 
the underlying rock being visible at numerous points. The localities 
at which the bedrock was seen by the author are indicated on Plate 
II by distinctive colors for the sandstone and shale, the trap rock, 
and the ancient crystalline rocks ; doubtless there are other rock out- 
crops that he did not observe. In many places the outcrop is only 
a few feet in extent, and the size of the area of exposure is neces- 

1 Ward, Freeman, The " dam " at Cheshire, Conn. : Am. Jour. Sci., 4th ser., vol. 3S, pp. 
155-156, 1914. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 449 PLATE VI 




• . - 








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A. ESKER NEAR BAILEYVILLE, BERLIN, CONN. 




B. STRATIFIED DRIFT NEAR HARBOR BROOK, MERIDEN, CONN. 



GROUND-WATER SUPPLIES. 13 

sarily exaggerated on the map. The principal rock exposures indi- 
cated on Plate II mark the prominent cliffs of the trap ridges, and 
the distribution of the minor exposures shows that in many places the 
glacial deposits covering the bedrock are very thin over Large areas. 
Many of the bedrock' exposures shown on the maps are along roads, 
where, of course, they are more readily observed, though the glacial 
material is in many places so thin that the bedrock is exposed by 
the road cuts and grades. On the higher lands the till is so thin 
that it is not eas} T to delineate the boundaries of the actual rock ex- 
posures. This is particularly true of the trap ridges: and the au- 
thor's mapping of the exposures of trap rock on those ridges, shown 
on Plate II, might be modified considerably by another investigator 
carrying on a similar study of the region. 

GROUND-WATER SUPPLIES. 

WATER IN STRATIFIED DRIFT. 

Stratified drift, which covers the lowlands of the Meriden area, 
consists chiefly of more or less definitely bedded deposits of clay, 
sand, and gravel, and the material as a whole offers conditions for 
the storage of water that are similar to those of the deposits of pres- 
ent-day streams, but the stratified drift contains a greater proportion 
of clay than is contained in those deposits, and in many places it is 
not so good a water bearer. The more sandy beds of stratified drift 
readily absorb rain, however, and are therefore important as water- 
bearing material. 

WATER IN TILL. 

The deposits of till that cover most of the Meriden area vary in 
character from relatively loose masses containing stones and some 
clay and sand to hard, compact masses of stones, sand, and clay 
cemented into a hardpan. The till contains large quantities of water, 
most of which is derived directly from precipitation, but its value 
as a source of supply differs according to its texture. The loose 
sandy or gravelly masses may yield fairly large and permanent sup- 
plies of water to wells, but the areas of sandy material are small, and 
those in which clay predominates are relatively large, so that till as 
a whole is a rather poor water-bearing material. In many places 
water is encountered in till at shallow depths because the clay in the 
till does not allow water to penetrate far below the surface, but the 
clay also prevents the rapid inflow of water to wells. Wells in till, 
therefore, usually furnish only scanty supplies, and many of them 
are likely to fail during periods of drought. 



14 GKOUND WATEK IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

WATEE IN TRIASSIC BOCKS. 

The sandstone and shale that underlie the glacial material 
throughout the greater part o£ the Meriden area are compact, and, 
although they are capable of absorbing large amounts of water, they 
do not readily yield it to wells. The pore spaces in these rocks act 
as capillary tubes that draw water into the materials, but these tubes 
are too small to permit the ready outflow of water from the rocks 
into wells. Considerable water is obtained by some wells in these 
sedimentary rocks, but it is derived mainly from cracks and seams 
in the rocks. 

WATER IN TRAP ROCK. 

Trap is a dense lava rock that contains little pore space and hence 
allows the storage of only very small quantities of water. ■ Certain 
kinds of the material are full of holes, but these bubble-like spaces 
are not connected with one another so as to allow the entrance and 
storage of water. In the central part of Connecticut, however, the 
trap, like the sedimentary rocks with which it is associated, is greatly 
fractured and contains numerous crevices and fissures which yield 
fairly large quantities of water where they are cut by drilled wells. 

WATER IN ANCIENT CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 

In the ancient crystalline rocks, in the southeastern part of the 
Meriden area, conditions affecting the occurrence of the water are 
probably less favorable than in the trap and sandstone. The gneiss 
and other ancient rocks are very compact and absorb little water. At 
the surface they are traversed by innumerable cracks and fissures, 
but work in quarries indicates that those 'that persist beyond shallow 
depths are relatively few and are not large enough to provide much 
storage for water. The yield of wells sunk in the crystalline rocks is 
therefore uncertain and depends directly on the number and size of 
the fissures that may be intercepted by the drill. 

AVAILABILITY OF GROUND- WATER SUPPLIES. 

Streams furnish most of the water now used in this area, but 
ground water is capable of extensive development in certain localities. 

Numerous wells that have been drilled in the towns visited and in 
other parts of the State show that the trap rock, the granite, and the 
other dense crystalline rocks as a rule yield only small amounts of 
water, even from wells several hundred feet deep. The water ob- 
tained from these rocks is stored almost wholly in the crevices and 
fissures ; and the chance intersection of numerous small crevices or of 
a few large ones accounts for the unusually large yield of the few 
deep wells in crystalline rocks from which relatively large amounts of 
water are obtained. 



GROUND-WATER SUPPL1KS. 15 

The sandstone that underlies the greater part of the six towns 
considered in this report is in some places fairlj coarse grained 
jino! porous, but examination where it is and 

quarries strongly indicates thai the available water in this rock is 
stored almost entirely in crevices. That the sandstone does not act 
as a great porous water-bearing body seems to be almost conclusively 
shown b\ the experience of well drillers, who vvvy con find 

water not at a definite horizon or layer of rock but in one or more 
crevices from which the water spurts into the well. Sufficient water 
for ordinary domestic needs can be obtained throughout the areas of 
sandstone by wells drilled to moderate depth, but the supplies 
yielded by numerous wells sunk deeper than 500 feet indicate that 
definite water-bearing layers do not exist in the sandstone. 

The chance of obtaining a flowing well in any part of the region is 
very slight, and depends on the intersection by the drill hole of a 
favorable system of water-bearing fissures in the rock. Of the 82 
drilled wells that were examined, only three flow (Berlin well No. 70, 
Rocky Hill well No. 5, and Rocky Hill well No. 23), and the flow of 
two of these is very small; these wells also are relatively shallow, 
the deepest being only 117 feet deep. The chances for obtaining an 
artesian flow do not appear to be increased by deep drilling. 

The stratified drift that covers the lowlands of the Meriden area 
contains water at a slightly less average depth than does the till, and 
domestic wells that are sunk in the stratified drift as a rule obtain 
more dependable supplies than those sunk in till. Of the 31(3 dug 
wells in glacial material that were examined, 106, or about one-third 
of the number, are in stratified drift and 210, or about two-thirds, 
are in till. The average depth to water in the wells in stratified 
drift early in May, 1915, was 13.7 feet, whereas the average depth 
to water in the wells in till was 14.3 feet, as is shown in the graphic 
tabulation of the depths to water in the dug wells in figure 3. 

Only 12, or about one-sixth of the 73 wells that were reported to 
fail in dry periods, are supplied from the stratified drift. 

Small areas in the stratified deposits of drift in each town that 
seem favorable for the development of large amounts of ground 
water have been specifically described in the descriptions of the 
towns (pp. 21-80), but they may be summarized as follows : In Berlin 
the most favorable locality for the development of large amounts of 
ground water seems to be the lowland on the south side of Matta- 
besset River, near the mouth of Belcher Brook. In Cromwell the 
most favorable locality is probably the lowland east of the village of 
Cromwell, where the principal brook in the town aids in replenish- 
ing the subsurface supply. The sandy deposits of the plain on the 
south border of Meriden, west of Quinnipiac River, appears to offer 
the best material for supplying large amounts of water to wells. In 



16 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONK', 



WELLS IN STRATIFIED DRIFT WELLS IN Tl LL 

On Average Average 

hill On slope In lowland | On hill On slope In lowland 




10 
20 


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Average depth to water 
in drift wells, 13.7ft. 



Average depth to water in till we!ls,l4.3ft. 



Figure 3. — Diagram showing depths to water in dug wells in the Meriden area, Conn., in. 

May, 1915. 



WELL CONSTRUCTION. 17 

Middlefield extensive sandy deposits were not observed, but sandy 
and gravelly layers, which would yield large quantities of water to 
wells that were properly cased and screened, probably occur in (he 
marsh land in the south-central portion of the town. In Middletown 
fairly deep sandy deposits of stratified drift occupy portions of 
the valley of Sumner Brook, and wells properly spaced throughout 
these deposits could doubtless obtain a large amount of water. The 
sand plain in the southern portion of Rocky Hill does not appear, 
from the available well records, to be capable of yielding much water 
to individual wells, as the material is fine grained and in places 
somewhat clayey. The stratified drift in the northern and eastern 
portions of the town may be capable of yielding much water from 
wells sunk near the principal drainage channels, but the most favor- 
able area for extensive water-bearing sands is believed to be the wide 
meadow in the northeast part of the town. 

The following quotation is given from a report by H. S. Palmer, 
on the ground waters of the Southington-Granby area, Conn., con- 
cerning water pumped from the stratified drift for public supply at 
Plain ville, a few miles west of the Meriden area, as this development 
affords an example of the possibilities in areas of similar material in 
the Meriden area: 

In 1909 thirty wells were driven In the sand plain east of Plainville between 
the railroad and Quinnipiac River by the Plainville Water Co., which supplies 
most of the inhabitants of Plainville village, in order to supplement the surface 
water supply. The wells are driven in two rows of 15 wells, each 3 inches in 
diameter and 25 to 30 feet deep. Pumping tests, when the wells were driven, 
showed that each yielded about 40 gallons a minute. The wells are connected 
by a suction main to a 3-cylinder Deane pump with a capacity of 30,000 gallons 
an hour, driven by a 50-horsepower De la Vergne crude-oil engine of the hot- 
tube type. Water is pumped directly into the mains, the excess going to gate- 
houses at the company's reservoir, which act as standpipes. If the pump is 
operated 10 or 12 hours a day it provides sufficient water. Despite this heavy 
draft there has not been a permanent reduction in the supply, the depression 
caused by the day's pumping being overcome during the night. 

WELL CONSTRUCTION. 

In the area treated in this paper the deposits of stratified drift 
seem to be the most promising source for obtaining large amount's 
of ground water. Because few, if any, attempts have been made 
in this region to obtain large supplies from the drift, some state- 
ments concerning the method of sinking w T ells that will probably be 
most successful in this material are given. Experience has demon- 
strated that large quantities of water from sand and gravel can 
be efficiently obtained from gangs of drilled or bored wells, which 
should usually be sunk at sufficient distances apart to prevent inter- 
ference with one another. The proper spacing depends chiefly on 
154445°— 20 2 



18 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONE". 

the relative coarseness of the water-bearing material; in gravel or 
coarse sand, which yields its water freely, fewer wells will be re- 
quired in a given area than in deposits of fine sand, which yields 
water more slowly; the most efficient spacing of wells ranges from 
about 15 feet in fine sand to 100 feet in coarse gravel. It is usually 
advisable to sink wells to the full depth of the water-bearing strata 
in order that as large yield as possible may be obtained. Wells that 
are drilled or bored in loose materials must be cased, usually with 
iron or steel pipe, to prevent caving, and the casings must be per- 
forated or sections of perforated tubing must be used in place of the 
casing at the water-bearing beds in order that the water may enter. 
In coarse sand and in gravels the casing may be satisfactorily per- 
forated by drilling many holes one- fourth or three-eighths inch in 
diameter in it or by slitting the casing after it is placed in the well by 
means of a powerful cutting device lowered inside the casing. In 
fine sands various patterns of slotted and wire-gauze screens are 
used. A satisfactory screen for use in fine material is also sometimes 
made by winding heavy wire closely around casing in which a great 
number of holes one-fourth or three-eighths inch in diameter have 
been drilled. After a well has been finished in unconsolidated mate- 
rials it is usually advisable to pump it strongly in order to remove 
the fine sand around the casing. The coarser material that remains 
will form a protective strainer around the casing that will lessen 
the tendency of the screen or perforations to become clogged and 
thus increase the yield of the well. Some screens that become clogged 
by fine sand against the outside, which can not be removed by strong 
pumping, can be cleaned by turning air, water, or steam under high 
pressure into the welL 

Some waters deposit mineral matter, usually calcium carbonate or 
a compound of iron, on the meshes of fine screens and in time 
seriously reduce the yield. These materials can rarely be loosened 
while the screen is in the well. In localities where such difficulty is' 
encountered, the diameter of the wells should be sufficiently large so 
that the sections of screen can be lowered inside the casing and be 
easily removed for cleaning. If the water level is at so great depth 
that a cylinder pump, an air lift, or other raising device must be in-; 
stalled in each well, casing 6 or 8 inches or larger in diameter should 
be used. If the water level remains during pumping within the prac- 
ticable suction lift of about 25 feet, pumps may be installed at the 
surface and the water raised by suction, either by a pump on each 
well or by a pump that is connected by air-tight suction mains to 
several wells. Centrifugal pumps are extensively used for lifting- 
water from shallow depths, and they are employed for lifting water 
from greater depths by installing them in pits. 



Twm 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 19 

QUALITY OF GROUND WATER, 

Twenty-four samples of water were collected by the author on 
May L8 and 10, 1915, and were analyzed under contract for the 
United States Geological Survey by S. C. Dinsmore. 

These analyses, except those of three waters which were probably 
contaminated (Berlin well No. 85, Cromwell well No. 11, and Middle- 
held well No. 26), are grouped in the following table according to 
tlu' geologic source of the waters — whether stratified drift, till, sand- 
stone, or trap. The springs, although probably they derive their 
water chiefly from the sandstone or the trap, may also contain water 
from the overlying glacial materials, and hence their analyses are 
not grouped with those of the well waters. The analyses are too few 
to warrant broad deductions as to the quality of the waters, but they 
seem to indicate certain general differences in the waters from differ- 
ent kinds of material. 

The analyses show a range in total dissolved solids from 80 parts 
per million parts of water in one of the wells ending in till to 367 
parts per million in one of the wells ending in trap, the average 
being 181 parts per million. The lowest average of total solids (101 
parts per million) is shown by the analyses of the spring waters, 
but the lowest amount was found in the water from a well ending in 
till (Berlin well No. 107). In general the waters from the rock 
formations (sandstone and trap) are noticeably more highly miner- 
alized than those from the glacial drift (stratified drift and till), 
the higher total contents being due chiefly to greater amounts of the 
scale-forming constituents — calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, and 
sulphate. 

Nearly all the waters are of the calcium-carbonate type. The 
average amounts of calcium and magnesium are distinctly higher 
in the waters from the rock than in those from the glacial drift. 
The average ratio of magnesium to calcium is nearly 1 to 3. In 
about half the waters the ratio is fairly constant, but in the others 
it ranges from 1 part of magnesium to 10.05 parts of calcium 
(Meriden well No. 52), both extremes being found in waters from 
sandstone. 

The content of sodium and potassium is low in all the waters. 
Only traces of these elements are reported in five of the waters, 
and they form less than 1 per cent of the total solids in three others. 
They are highest in a sandstone water (Meriden well No. 52), in 
which, however, they amount to only 21 parts per million. So far as 
these few data show, the rock waters contain lower average amounts 
of these constituents than the waters from the glacial drift. 
t The average content of sulphates is higher in the rock waters 
tnan in the waters from the glacial drift. In only two of the sam- 



20 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 



pies, however (Berlin well No. 83 and Meriden well No. 52), does 
the sulphate radicle exceed 50 parts per million. 

Chlorides form only a small percentage of the total dissolved 
solids, although the quantity shown by most of the analyses much 
exceeds that indicated by the isochlors that have been drawn for the 
State. 1 The percentage is higher for the waters from the stratified 
drift and till than for the waters from the sandstone, but this may 
be due to the fact that wells ending in drift, many of which are 
shallow dug wells, are more exposed to pollution than those ending 
in sandstone, most of which are drilled and are deeper. 

Chemical composition of ground water in Meriden area. 
[Parts per million.] 



Source. 


2 

m 

03 

m 


a 

o 


'o? 

'3 
o 


'a 

03 


o " w 


03—' 

^■0(5 

=- 03O 


2° 

03 — 


03^, 

3° 
02 


-3 

03 • 
tM ^ 

°G «> 
.So 
si 
o 


•3 . 

03O 

03"^f 


1 CO 

to 2 
-•do 

03g» 
O w 03 


Wells in glacial deposits: 
Stratified drift: 

Berlin No. 20 


25 
IS 
17 

18 


Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 


42 
14 
11 
20 


15 

5.0 
4.8 
5.6 


9.6 
8.8 
10 
Trace 


0.0 
.0 
.0 
.0 


197 
9.7 
14 
48 


8.2 
11 
29 
10 


7.5 
14 
14 

7.0 


8.0 
44 
10 
12 


109 
119 
93 

101 


Cromwell No. 6 




Middlefield No. 11 






19 


Trace. 


22 


7.6 


7.1 


.0 


67 


15 


11 


18 


130 




Till: 


17 
20 
26 


Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 


40 
11 
25 


17 
3.9 

8.9 


9.5 
4.9 
16 


.0 

.0 
.0 


153 
34 
63 


16 
9.8 
34 


17 

4.5 
18 


30 
12 
28 


226 
80 
192 


Berlin No. 107 


Middlefield No. 6 






21 


Trace. 


25 


9.9 


10 


.0 


83 


20 


13 


23 


166 




Wells in rock : 
Sandstone: 

Berlin No. 31 


22 
25 
17 
17 
27 
25 
15 
16 
20 


Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 


31 

46 

65 

28 

50 

69. 

28 

33 

41 


22 

13 

17 
7.4 
9.6 
6.3 

14 

19 

19 


1.6 

2.5 
5.3 
Trace 
13 
24 
.6 
.7 
8.5 


.0 
.0 
.0 
.0 
.0 
.0 
.0 
.0 
.0 


143 
143 
102 
92 
134 
129 
117 
148 
219 


11 
16 
147 
10 
46 
77 
11 
10 
9.0 


13 
19 

5.0 

5.0 
16 
23 

7.0 
11 

7.0 


30 
16 

.0 
3.0 
15 
40 
14 
18 

.0 


184 


Berlin No. 46 




Berlin No. 83 






128 




235 




339 




159 




187 


Middletown No. 104 


213 




20 
23 


Trace. 
Trace. 


43 

58 


14 
32 


6.2 
7.0 


.0 
.0 


136 

251 


37 
8.6 


12 
36 


15 
32 


222 


Trap: 


367 


Springs: 


27 
16 
19 
15 


Trace. 
Trace. 
Trace. 
» 0.20 


29 
22 
21 
23 


4.1 
7.2 
5.6 
4.1 


3.0 
Trace 
Trace 
Trace 


.0 
.0 
.0 
.0 


92 
70 

65 
46 


5.3 
8.6 
Trace 
16 


7.0 
3.0 
6.0 
4.0 


6.0 
.0 
14 
8.0 


120 


Middletown No. 27 


96 


Middletown No. 37 


102 


Middletown No. 87 


99 








19 
20 


.05 


24 
34 


5.2 
11 


.8 


.0 


68 


7.5 


5.0 


7.0 


104 








6.0 


.0 


108 


24 


12 


16 


181 







a Calculated. 



Nitrate is reported to be absent from one spring water and two 
sandstone waters. It reaches a maximum amount in the water 



1 Jackson, D. D., The normal distribution of chlorine in the natural waters of New 
York and New England : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 144, p. 20, 1905. 



BERLIN. 21 

from Cromwell well No. 6, which ends in stratified drift. The 
high nitrate content of this water and of some of the other waters 
may be due to the presence of considerable organic matter, but it is 
evident that pollution exists in a number of the waters. Although the 
evidence is based on mineral and not sanitary analyses, any water that 
contains more than 25 parts per million of nitrate and an amount' of 
chloride much higher than the average should receive a bacteriologic 
examination before being used for drinking. 

Some of the waters analyzed are rather hard and poor for use in 
boilers, but on the whole their quality compares favorably with that 
of ground waters in other parts of the country. 

The use of drilled wells drawing water from the rock for do- 
mestic supplies is advisable in many places, even though the rock 
water may be somewhat harder than the water from the glacial 
deposits, because more dependable supplies are assured and the 
danger of contamination is reduced. 

Further discussions of the ground waters and statements pertaining 
to their economic value 1 are presented in the descriptions of the towns 
from which they were obtained. 

DESCRIPTIONS OF TOWNS. 

BERLIN. 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The town of Berlin occupies the northwestern part of the Meriden 
area. The first white settler in the present town was Sergt. Richard 
Beckley, a planter from New Haven, who about 1660 established 
his home on 300 acres of land in the valley of Mattabesset River, 
near the present village of Beckley. Within the next few decades 
a settlement known as Beckleys Quarter was built up in the vicinity, 
and another settlement, which was known as the Great Swamp, 
in the lowland to the west. In 1705 these early settlements were 
organized as a society of the community of Farmington, which 
originally embraced also the town of New Britain, to the north. 
This society was for a time known as Farmington Village, but in 
1722 the western part adopted the name of Kensington. In 1754 
the northern part organized as the society of New Britain, and by 
1785 the population had so increased that additional organization 
was warranted. The three societies of New Britain, Kensington, 
and the original settlement, then known as Worthington, accordingly 
incorporated as the town of Berlin. At the' time of incorporation 
and for many years after Worthington (now East Berlin) was the 
principal place of business. In 1850 the town was again divided, 
the societies of Kensington and Worthington retaining the original 

1 Dole, R. B., Standards for classification ; Ground water in San Joaquin Valley, Calif. : 
U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 398, pp. 50-81, 1916. 



22 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 



town name and its present boundaries, and the society of New Brit- 
ain being incorporated as the town of New Britain. „ 

The town of Berlin now con- 
tains the villages of Berlin, East 
Berlin, Beekley, and Kensington 
and includes an area of about 
17,700 acres, according to pla- 
nkneter measurement on the 
Meriden and Middletown topo- 
graphic maps. 1 About 36 per 
cent of the total area is wooded. 
( See PL IV, in pocket. ) Nearly 
8 per cent is marsh land, com- 
prised almost entirely in a tract' 
between the villages of Berlin 
and East Berlin. Several ponds 
and reservoirs in the town cover 
an area of about 360 acres. 

POPULATION AND INDUSTRIES. 

Records of the early popula- 
tion within the present limits of 
the town have not been found by 
the author. From about 1660 
until a number of years after 
the incorporation of the town in 
1785, growth must have been 
fairly rapid, for in 1800 Kensing- 
ton had a population of 764 and 
Worthington 1,003. During the 
following decade Kensington 
lost 8 and Worthington gained 
47 people, 2 but 40 years later, 
shortly after the incorporation 
of New Britain as a separate 
town, the total population of 
Kensington and Worthington 
(forming the town of Berlin) 
had gained only 60. Since 1850 
the growth has been more rapid, as is shown in figure 4. 

1 The assessor's returns for 1915 give a total of 15,1851 acres. The area given on 
p. 413 of the Connecticut State {Register and Manual for 1915 — 10,516 acres — is evi- 
dently in error. 

2 Camp, D. N., History of New Britain, with sketches of Farmington and Berlin, 
Conn., p. 196, New Britain, 1889. 



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BERLIN. 23 

This increase has been due largely to the railroads that were 
built through the town from Meriden in L839 and from Middletown 
about L845, for these transportation lines began in a few years to 
attract manufacturing industries. 

The manufacture of tinware in Connecticut whs begun in Berlin 
about the time of the Ai ierican Revolution, and a number of other 
industries were early developed, water power being used for factories 
as well as for gristmills. At present the chief industries are the 
manufacture of iron bridges and other structural iron work at Berlin 
station, jewelry at East Berlin, and envelopes, paper bags, and other 
paper articles at Kensington. 

The uplands of the town are noted for fruit raising, and the low- 
lands have long been devoted to hay raising and to pasturage. In 
the lowland near Beckley and near Berlin station brickmaking has 
also been carried on extensively for many years. 

SURFACE FEATURES. 

The highest points in the town of Berlin are the crest of South 
Mountain, on its southwest border, at an elevation of 790 feet, and 
the crest of Ragged Mountain, on its northwest border, at an eleva- 
tion of 754 feet. The Hanging Hills, in the southern part of the 
town, and Lamentation Mountain, in its southeastern part, form 
prominent highlands that trend east of north. From these prominent 
ridges the surface slopes northward through rolling hills down to 
extensive lowlands along Mattabesset River. Where this stream 
leaves the town and swings eastward its channel is only a few feet 
above the tide. 

The higher parts of the town are densely wooded with second or 
later growths of chestnut, oak, and other trees, and numerous wooded 
patches dot the lower hills. The open valley lands are. however, 
practically free from timber. (See PL IV, in pocket.) 

STREAMS. 

Practically the entire town is drained by Mattabesset River and its 
tributaries, the only exception being a small area on the southern 
border, which drains southward through Cathole Gorge. The 
western and southern boundaries of the town represent approxi- 
mately the limits of the Mattabesset drainage basin in those direc- 
tions. In conformity with the main topographic features, the tribu- 
taries of the Mattabesset flow in a fairly direct course east of north 
to the major stream, which winds eastward through the lowland of 
the northern part of the town, and then, after flowing southward, 
forming the town line for 3 miles, it turns east and southeast to Con- 
necticut River. 



24 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN". 

The Mattabesset is a sluggish stream throughout its lower portion. 
The operation of numerous mill ponds and reservoirs on its tribu- 
taries greatly affect. its daily discharge, and reliable measurements 
of the flow of the main stream and its branches are difficult to obtain.' 
The mean flow during the six months of low water has been given 
as follows : x 

Mean flow of Mattabesset River (hiring six months of low water. 

Second-feet. 2 

At Berlin station 10 

Below mouth of Belcher Brook 20 

Above Westfield s 50 

Since the claj^s of early settlement the Mattabesset has furnished 
power for mills. The stream is badly polluted in its lower portion 
by factory wastes and by the effluent from the sewage beds of the 
city of New Britain, which are in the lowland west of Beckley. (See 
PL IV, in pocket.) 

The principal tributary to Mattabesset River in Berlin is Belcher 
Brook, which heads in Beaver Pond, in the town of Meriden, and 
thence flows directly northward through a large pond on the town line 
to the Mattabesset a mile southeast of Berlin station. A short distance 
above its junction with Mattabesset River Belcher Brook is joined 
by North Brook, a stream that heads in the gap in Hanging Hills 
that is occupied by Merimere reservoir of the Meriden city water 
supply. Overflow water from this reservoir is, however, diverted 
by a ditch into a lower reservoir on an upper branch of the Matta- 
besset proper. The drainage of the slopes between Belcher and 
North brooks enters Belcher Brook through two minor streams that 
join it at points respectively about one-eighth and five-eighths of a 
mile above its mouth. The approximate mean discharge of North 
Brook in its lower course is 3 second-feet, and the mean flow of 
Belcher Brook in its lower course is about 8 second-feet. 1 Measure- 
ments made by the writer at different points in the lower course of 
each stream indicate, however, that a considerable part of the flow 
of each stream sinks into the gravel of the lowland and hence is not 
visible at the junction with the Mattabesset. 

A stream system that drains the southwestern part of New Britain 
also drains the northernmost portion of Berlin. Its three main 
branches unite in the lowland half a mile north of Berlin station to 

1 Report on the investigation of the pollution of streams, Connecticut State Board of 
Health, p. 45, 1915. 

2 A second-foot is the rate of discharge in a stream 1 foot wide aud 1 foot deep, flowing 
at the rate of 1 foot a second — that is, 1 cubic foot a second, or 7.48 gallons a second. 

3 On April 14, 1915, the flow of the stream one-half mile west of Westfield station, 
according to a current-meter measurement, made in connection with the present investi- 
gation, was 42 second-feet. 



BERLIN". 25 

form Willow Brook, which flows for more than a mile eastward and 
southward across the lowland and joins the Mattabesset 1J miles 
below the mouth of Belcher Brook. In the saturated lowland 
Willow Brook is a sluggish stream whose average flow is difficult to 

determine, and near its mouth the probable accession of water from 
the New Britain sewage beds renders measurements of the flow of 
the stream unreliable. The natural flow in its lower course seems to 
be only 1 or 2 second- feet. Webster Brook, a small, sluggish stream 
that comes from the north and drains only lowlands, also enters the 
Mattabesset near the sewage beds. 

A fairly straight brook that drains a narrow basin beading in the 
town of Rocky Hill enters Berlin near its northeast corner and joins 
the Mattabesset where that river turns from an easterly to a southerly 
course. The lower mile of this brook has a fairly uniform and steep 
grade, the fall being nearly 100 feet. Its narrow basin is only 2| 
miles long, and its average flow is less than 1 second-foot. Two other 
streams of about the same size enter the Mattabesset from the 
Berlin side. One of these streams heads in Middletown on the north- 
east slope of Lamentation Mountain, flows first northward through a 
large marshy area between the villages of Berlin and East Berlin, 
then swings eastward and joins the Mattabesset opposite the Rocky 
Hill-Cromwell town line. The other stream drains the lower slopes 
east of Lamentation Mountain and only the lower half mile of its 
course is in Berlin. It joins the Mattabesset 300 or 400 yards above 
the Berlin-Middletown town line. 

In the southern part of Berlin much of the drainage of the Mat- 
tabesset is collected in three reservoirs — Merimere, Hallmere, and 
Kenmere — for the water supply of the city of Meriden. 

Harts Ponds in the northwest and a large pond in the southeast 
portion of Berlin are in part formed by dams. Ice is harvested from 
the southeastern pond in winter, but Harts Ponds serve chiefly as stor- 
age supplies for the mill ponds farther downstream. Chief of these 
ponds is that of the American Paper Goods Co., a mile southwest of 
Berlin station, and a newer pond that is formed by another dam 
half a mile below. 

GEOLOGY. 

The Triassic bedrock in the town of Berlin has been greatly dis- 
placed from its original position by extensive faulting. The blocks 
between the fault zones, which trend generally northeast, have been 
tilted eastward or southeastward at angles of 10° to 20° from the 
horizontal. The several blocks have also been offset by movements 
that have in general shoved the rocks on the western side of each 
fault southward with respect to the rocks on the eastern side. This 
extensive faulting has brought to the surface the broken edges of 



26 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

the three trap sheets in the manner shown in the cross sections C-D 
and E-F of Plate III (in pocket). 

The rock of the " Anterior " or lower trap sheet has been brought 
to the surface only near the southeast corner of the town and at one 
place on its west border. In these places the " Anterior " trap 
forms only a few small exposures, as is indicated in Plate II (in 
pocket). The main trap sheet is well exposed in several cliffs in the 
southern and western portions of the town and also forms the bed- 
rock beneath considerable areas in those portions. (See PI. III.) 
The " Posterior " or upper trap sheet has been brought to the sur- 
face and forms several bands or zones in the northern and north- 
eastern portions of the town. Three or four of the bands formed 
by this trap sheet are low but distinct ridges, but the others are 
so inconspicuous that the courses of the broken edges of the trap 
sheet are very largely hidden by the overlying glacial deposits. 

The beds of sandstone with which the trap sheets are associated 
have been so displaced from their original position that the " Pos- 
terior" sandstone (which underlies the "Posterior." trap sheet) and 
also the sandstones beneath the other trap sheets, now form the 
uppermost rock beneath considerable parts of the town, although 
the original upper sandstone remains as the uppermost rock beneath 
most of the northeast part of the town. In deep drilling in the 
areas where the upper sandstone forms the uppermost rock the en- 
tire series of sandstones and three trap sheets would therefore be 
penetrated if the drill hole were continued to sufficient depth. 

In the lower lands of the town, which are along the valley of 
Mattabesset Eiver and its main tributaries, the bedrock is overlain 
by stratified glacial drift, as shown in Plate II (in pocket). Beds 
of brick clay are found in these deposits along the Mattabesset and 
appear to have been laid down in a lake that occupied the river valley 
for some time after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice. 1 

In a few places the stratified drift forms characteristic features 
other than flat lowland areas. In the lowland one-half mile to 1 mile 
southwest of Beckley there is a long, narrow curved ridge or esker 
(PI. VI, A) composed of sand and gravel that was deposited along 
the course of a glacial stream that flowed beneath the ice sheet. A 
small area 1| miles southeast of Turkey Hill and a few hundred 
yards west of the railroad contains several depressions that are 
probably kettle holes, formed by the melting of great blocks of ice 
that were left with other glacial debris as the main ice front melted 
and retreated northward. 

The higher lands, which form the greater part of the town, are 
overlain by glacial till. On the higher slopes this loose material is 

1 Loughlin, G. F., The clays and clay industries of Connecticut : Connecticut Geol. and 
Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 4, p, 24, 1905. 



,i,iN. 27 

in many places vary thin, however^ and the underlying rock, which is 
chiefly trap on these slopes, is Laid bare a( numerous points. 

Dishur, evidences of glaciataon are shown by glacial scratches nt 
several places on the exposed ruck surfaces, botih in the ridges and 
in the lower rolling hills. A number of the lower hills are also 
rounded and elongated in a geneasal northerly direction and are p 
afely (Irnmlins or masses of till ( nnstratiiied glacial drift), which 
were formed beneath the ice sheet in somewhat the same way that 
sand bars are formed in sluggish streams. 

WATKK SUPPLIES. 

Surface traicr. — In the southern part of the town of Berlin a few 
families near the Meriden water main from Kenmere to Elmere 
reservoirs obtain domestic supplies from that source. In 1914 in the 
village of Berlin 113 customers were supplied by a line extending 
southward from the New Britain Water Co.s system. 1 

The Berlin Water Co., organized about 1912, has planned to sup- 
ply the village of Berlin with water pumped from Mattabesset River, 
but in the summer of 1917 construction on its system had not been 
begun. 

Except for the families in Berlin village that are supplied by the 
New Britain Water Co., and those in the southern portion of the 
town that are supplied from the Meriden main, the people of the 
town of Berlin depend for water on individual wells, though a few 
of them obtain their supplies from springs. 

Wafer in stratified drift. — By far the greater number of wells in 
Berlin are dug in the unconsolidated glacial deposits. Relatively few 
wells have been dug or drilled into the underlying rocks. The de- 
posits of stratified drift occupy most of the lowland areas in the town, 
and also cover some of the adjacent hillsides, as is shown in Plate II 
(in pocket) . Of the 87 dug w T ells ~ in the town that obtain water from 
the glacial deposits. 35 are in the stratified drift, and although some 
of them get low and even fail completely during the later part of the 
summer, they furnish water at relatively shallow depths during mo 
of the year. The depth of the wells differs considerably, the maxi- 
mum that was noted being 43 feet in well 105 early in May, 1915. 
The depth of water in the wells ending in stratified drift that were 
measured in this town differs markedly according to the topographic 
position, and, as is shown in figure 3 (p. 16), the ground water 
stands about twice as deep on the hillsides as in the lowlands. The 
average depth to water in the three wells examined on hilltops was 

1 Connecticut Public Utilities Commission Rept., 1014, p. 661. 

2 Wells 33 and; 56 are omitted from this enumeration, as they obtain water from the 
underlying sandstone. 



28 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

over three times as great as in the lowland wells. In one lowland well 
(No. 41), however, the depth to water was greater than in two of the 
hilltop wells. The analysis of the water of the deepest recorded hill- 
top well in drift (well 20, p. 32) shows it to be a water of moderate 
concentration, in which calcium and bicarbonate predominate, mak- 
ing it a moderately hard water for this area, although the amount' is 
not excessive and No. 107 is the only Berlin water analyzed that con- 
tains less hardening constituents. 

The detached area of stratified drift in the vicinity of Harts Ponds 
(see PL II, in pocket) is thin, and although water is obtained at 
shallow depths, the wells are liable to fail in summer. The stratified 
drift in the valley of Belcher Brook and in the stream valley between 
Berlin and East Berlin is also rather thin, and some of the dug wells 
in these localities likewise fail. In the lowland north of Mattabesset 
River there are extensive deposits of clay, and dug wells there do 
not obtain satisfactory supplies of water. 

On the south side. of the Mattabesset near the mouth of Belcher 
Brook, dug wells obtain more reliable supplies of water, for the drift 
there is more sandy. Large quantities of ground water probably can 
be developed in this locality by shallow wells drilled or bored to the 
bottom of the principal water-bearing strata. Wells sunk in this 
area should be cased to keep out fine sand, and properly screened to 
allow the rapid inflow of water. Ample supplies of water of good 
quality for domestic consumption and industrial use could probably 
be thus developed in this lowland area at a relatively small cost for 
the neighboring communities of Kensington, Berlin station, and 
Berlin. Below Beckley the stratified drift is clayey, and conse- 
quently good supplies of water are not so commonly obtained there 
as near the mouth of Belcher Brook. 

I Water in till. — The greater part of the town of Berlin is covered 
with glacial till. Over the higher lands the till is too thin to serve 
as a water-bearing formation, however, and both the underlying trap 
and the sandstone are exposed in many places. (See PL II, in 
pocket.) The average depth to water in the 52 till wells that were 
measured was 14.5 feet, or practically the same as in the 35 wells 
in stratified drift. (See fig. 3, p. 16.) The average depth to water 
in the wells in till on hills and slopes was noticeably less than in 
wells in stratified drift in the same topographic positions, however. 
In the lowlands, on the contrary, the average depth to water was 
nearly 50 per cent greater in the wells in till than in the wells in 
stratified drift. 

; The analyses of water from dug wells 51, 85 (p. 30), and 107 (p. 
31), the first two being hilltop wells in till and the last on a slope in 
the same material, illustrate the marked differences in character in 
well waters obtained from the till. The water from well 51 is a moder- 



BERLIN. 29 

ately hard calcium-carbonate water, whereas that from well 107 is 
unusually free from mineral salts in solution. The high content of 
calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate in the water from well 85-shows 
thai it is a very hard water for this area. This well is in a barnyard, 
and the unusually large amounts of chloride and nitrate indicate that 
the water is contaminated b}' the barnyard wastes. 

Wet, r in sa/ndstone and trap. — Records were obtained of the water 
level in only 13 drilled wells in Berlin. These wells range in depth 
from 50 to 300 feet, the average depth being 120 feet. Most of these 
wells are drilled into the sandstone and obtain dependable supplies of 
water sufficient for domestic use. Well 23, how T ever, which is drilled 
at a brickyard in the lowland near Beckley, probably is sunk its 
entire depth in the stratified drift and obtains its water from a 
sandy layer below the clay deposits. Trap was penetrated in wells 
46 and 77, but their main water supplies are from the overlying 
sandstone. "Well 70 is of unusual character, as it has an artesian 
flow. Its natural yield of 100 gallons a minute is much larger than 
is usually obtained from drilled wells. The trap rock of the pos- 
terior sheet is exposed near the well, and the bottom of the well, 
which is reported to be 117 feet deep, may be a short distance below 
the bottom of the trap sheet, and the artesian flow may come from 
the sandstone beneath the nearly impervious trap rock. 

The analyses of water from drilled w T ells 31, 46, and 83 (p. 32) 
show them to be waters of moderate concentration, in which calcium 
and bicarbonate, the usual constituents in this region, predominate. 
The water from well 83 is notable for its high content of sulphate in 
addition to bicarbonate. It is a rather hard water, but the low con- 
tent of chloride and the absence of nitrate indicate that it is prob- 
ably free from contamination. In this respect it is a better water 
than many others in the town. 

Springs. — Only five springs were noticed in the town, and only 
one of these was used as a domestic supply. Three of the springs 
issue directly from sandstone. The other two issue from the glacial 
deposits that overlie the sandstone, but possibly have their principal 
source also in the water that is stored in crevices in the sandstone. 
All are of small but perennial flow. 

RECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 

The locations of a number of wells, scattered throughout the town, 
are indicated on Plate II (in pocket), together with the depth to 
water in each early in May, 1915. Additional data concerning these 
wells and the springs that were noticed are given in the following 
tables and their discussion. The depth to water in the wells listed, 
and the relative capacity and permanence of their supplies, are be- 
lieved to be typical of the many other wells in the town. 



30 GROUND WATER IN THE" MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

Bug mells in Berlin. 



Map 

No. a 



Topographic 
position. 



Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 



Total 

depth. 



Depth 
to 

water 
May, 
1915. 



Feet. 


Feet. . 


15 


12 


19 


17 


23 


12 


20 


10 


14 


8 


13 


3 


32 


16 


6 


3 


20 


15 


17 


10 


1:9 


11 


.31 


6 


16 


10 


20 


6 


22 


16 


20 


14 


44 


42 


25 


20 


38 


35 


18 


11 


38 


22 


33 


29 


98 


36 


19 


14 


24! 


15 


-23 


:8 


23 


18 


28 


27 


6 


4 


12 


5 


29 


12 


23 


14 


11 


6 


29 


27 


18 


16 


14 


11 


11 


9 


31 


7 


21 


17 


•27 


20 


60 


12 


35 


33 


31 


22 


14 


11 


8 


4 


23 


20 


31 


16 


24 


20 


19 


13 


14 


12 


38 


32 


21 


20 


15 


6 


29 


14 


26 


7 


21 


19 


24 


20 


20 


16 


14 


5 


22 


15 


19 


18 


32 


16 


22 


3 


25 


20' 


26 


5 


20 


15 


16 


12 


14 


7 


21 


18 


33 


32 



Method of lift. 



Remarks. 



Slope. 



do 

Swale 

do 

Lowland 

Base of hill... 
do 



do.. 

Slope . . . 
Knoll... 
Slope 
Saddle.. 

do... 

Slope. . . 

do... 

do. . 

Knoll..... 



do. 

Slope . . 

do. 

do. 

Knoll... 
Slope. . 

do. 

....do. 
....do. 
....do. 
....do. 



Swale 

Base of ridge. 

Swale 

Ridge 

Lowland 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Slope 

....do.. 

Knoll 

Slope 

Swale 

Small ridge. . 

Slope 



....do 

Swale...: 

Slope 

Base of hill... 

Lowland 

Knoll 

Slope 

....do 

Knoll 

Slope 

Swale 

....do 

Slope 

Lowland 

Slope 

Swale 

Base of knoll. 
Swale 



Slope 

Swale 

Slope 

....do 

....do 

Small ridge. 
Hill 



Feet. 
210 

210 
160 
140 
55 
220 
220 

190 

110 

120 

70 

ISO 

180 

100 

100 

70 

90 

120 
«0 
120 
60 
100 
80 
130 
140 
230 
140 
125 

100 

55 

170 

175 

55 

60 

55 

65 

65 

110 

80 

80 

•180 

190 

230 

230 
190 

80 

90 
160 
110 

65 
160 
150 
110 
100 

80 
. 230 
200 
205 
185 
190 
145 
140 
100 

110 
130 
180 
180 
180 
185 
195 



Windlass . 



do. 

Well sweep *. 

Rope and bucket . 

Chain pump 

do. 

Pitcher pump 



Windmill 

Windlass 

Chain pump . 
do 



Pitcher pump 

Windlass 

do 

Chain pump 

Wheeland bucket 



do ....:.. 

Windlass 

.....do 

....do 

Wheel and bucket 



Wheel and bucket 

Windlass 

do 

....do 



Windmill . 

Windlass . 



Wheel and bucket 

Chain pump 

Windlass 

do 

do 



Chain pump_ . 

do 

Windlass 
Hand pump . . 

Windlass 

....do 



do 

Rope and bucket. 
Wheel and bucket 

Chain pump 

do 

Windlass 

Chain pump 

Wheel and bucket 



Chain pump.. 

Windlass.. 

....do 

Wheel and bucket 

....do 

....do 

Rope and bucket. 

Hand pump. 

Pitcher pump 

Wheel and bucket 
....do. , 



Hand pump 

....do 

....do 

Rope and bucket . 



Pitcher pump. 
....do 



Gets low but never dxy; trap pene- 
trated. 
Does not dry. 
Dry every summer . 
Never dry; 100 yards east of No, 4. 



Low in summer; 100 yards southeast 
of No. 7. 

Trap penetrated. 

Dry in summer. ' 
Unused but never dry. 
Good supply. 



Dry in summer. C. W. Downe, 

-owner. (See analysis, p. 32.) 
Never dry. 

Dry in summer. 

Do. 

Unused. 

Dry in summer. 



Most of distance in sandstone; do- 
mestic supply from spring No. 34. 
Close to drainage channel. 



Low in summer; trap penetrated. 

Never dry. 

Do. 

Do. 
Dry in summer. 
Gets low but not dry. 

Never dry. 
Dry in summer. 

Algot Larson, owner. (See analysis, 
p. 32.) 

Never dry; trap penetrated. 

Dry in summer. 

Nearly entire distance in sandstone. 

Dry in summer. 



Unused. 

Gets low but not dry. 

Never dry. 

Gets low but not dry. 

Trap penetrated. 



Do. 
Dry in summer. 

Do. 
Rarely goes dry; entire distance in 

sandy material. 
Gets low but not dry. 
Sandstone penetrated. 



Unused. 

Gets low but not dry. 
Dry in summer. C. W. Dyer, owner. 
( : See analysis, p. 32.) 



a The map number corresponds with the number of the location on PL II (in pocket). 



BKKLIX. 

Dun wells in Berlin Continued. 



31 



Map 

No. 


Topographic 
position. 


K liga- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 


Total 

depl ii. 


Depth 

to 

water 
May, 
1915. 


Method of lift. 


Remarks. 


8(5 
88 


ol lull 


Feet. 

1 10 

130 

100 


Feet. 

6 

28 
38 


Feel. 

2 

22 

30 

10 

15 

13 

4 

19 

S 

is 

3 

6 

13 

G 

5 

1 

43 

19 

17 


Pitcher pump 

do 


Gets low but not dry; sandstone 

penetrated. 
Dry in summer. 
' Do. 


89 


Knoll 


Wheal and bucket 


90 




60 


Unused. 


91 


Swale 


2 1 
245 
205 
210 
280 
210 
200 
190 
210 
150 
160 
180 
190 
300 
350 


21 

30 

11 

25 

is 

30 

5 

19 

14 

9 

6 

6 

50 

27 

21 




Never dry; trap penetrated. 


92 








93 
94 


ind 

Base of hill 

do 

Slope 

>i knell.. 


Rope and bucket. . 


Dry during dry summers. 


95 
90 
9S 
99 


Chain pump 

Wheeland bucket. 
Pitcher pump 


Dry in summer. 
Unused. 


100 


do 

Lowland 




Unused; drive point. 


101 




Large supply; sandstone penterated. 


103 


do 

Rope and bucket.. 
Wheeland bucket. 


Greenhouse supply; trap penetrated. 


104 


Swale 




1 05 


Flat 


Never dry; sandstone penetrated. 


100 




Unused but never dry. 


107 


do 




Never drv. Dennis Kahalev, owner. 






(See analysis, p. 32.) 



Drilled ircllx in Berlin. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic 
position. 


Eleva- 
tion 
above 

sea 
level. 


Total 
depth. 


Depth 

to 
water 

May, 
1915. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Kind of 
rock. 


Yield. 


Remarks. 


1 


Base of hill 

.do.... 


Feet. 
170 

230 

110 

30 

220 

90 

100 

180 
180 

110 

140 

180 
175 


Feet. 
100 

140 
50 
73 
97 

80 

120 

96 
117 

80 

135 

300 

176 


Feet. 
16 

20 
8 

40 
25 

15 

10 

20 


18 

29 

15 
30 


Feet. 




Gallons 
per 

minute. 


Dug 23 feet; drilled 77 feet. 


9 


do 




Force pump. 
Force pump and electric motor. 


16 






do 




Hand pump. 


23 


Lowland 

Slope 




do 




(iood supply of water at 70 feet. 


31 


6 


do 

do 




Supplies three families. John 


39 


Base of ridge .. 


Ross, owner. 1 See analysis, 
p. 32.) 
D$ig 20 feet; drilled 00 feet. 


46 




do 




Force pump. Trap prob- 
ably penetrated. 
At Worthington school. Trap 


54 


do.. 


24 

1 

15 
60 


Trap 




penetrated. (See analysis, 
p. 32. ) 
Force pump. 


70 
75 


Low ridge 

Slope 


do 

Sandstone.. 
do 


100 
12 


Water struck at 89 feet; tem- 

' ire 52° F. Flows. 
Engine pumps 7 gallons a min- 


77 




ute. Trap penetrated. 
60-127 feet in sandstone; 127- 


80 


Slope 


do 




135 feet in trap. 


38 


Flat 




do 




Mrs. Mary A. Dunham, owner. 






(See analysis, p. 32.) 



Springs in Berlin. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic position. 


Elevation 

above sea 

level. 


Temper- 
ature. 


Yield. 


Bedrock. 


Remarks. 


34 




Feet. 
110 
100 
100 
200 
140 


"F. 


Gallons 
per min- 
ute. 

i 

i 

i 

i 

4 


Sandstone 

do 


Domestic supply. 


76 




45 


Nearly dry in summer. 


87 




do 


Drinking water supply. 


97 








Unused; at roadside. 


102 


.do.... 


48 




Drinking water supply. 











32 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

ANALYSES OF GROUND WATER. 

In the following table are given the analyses of seven samples of 
ground water collected in the town of Berlin. Of these samples four 
are from dug wells and three are from drilled wells. These analyses 
are discussed on pages 19-21. 

Chemical composition and classification of toater from toells in Berlin. 
[Parts per million. Samples collected May, 1915; S. C. Dinsmore, analyst.]' 



Silica (Si0 2 ) 

Iron(Fe) 

Calcium (Ca) 

Magnesium (Mg) 

Sodium and potassium (Na+K)t>. . . 

Carbonate radicle (C0 3 ) 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 

Sulphate radicle (SO4) 

Chloride radicle (CI) 

Nitrate radicle (N0 3 ) 

Total dissolved solids at 180° C 

Total hardness as CaC0 3 & 

Probable scale-forming ingredients & 

Probability of corrosion & c 

Quathy for boiler use 

Chemical character 



Dug wells. 



20 a 



25 
Trace. 
42 
15 
9.6 
.0 
197 
8.2 
7.5 
8.0 
209 
166 
170 
N 
Fair. 
Ca-COs 



17 

Trace. 

40 

17 

9.5 

.0 

153 

16 

17 

30 

226 

170 

160 

Pair. 
Ca-C0 3 



85 



15 

Trace. 

100 

48 

27 

.0 

297 

27 

131 

60 

617 

447 

390 

(?) 

Poor. 

Ca-COs 



107 



20 

Trace. 

11 
3.9 
4.9 
.0 

34 
9.8 
4.5 

12 

80 

44 

59 

(?) 
Good. 
Ca-C0 3 



Drilled wells. 



31 



22 

Trace. 

31 

22 

1.6 

.0 

143 

11 

13 

30 

184 

168 

150 

^ ? ) 
Fair. 

Mg-C0 3 



46 



25 

Trace. 

46 

13 

2.5 

.0 

143 

16 

19 

16 

213 

168 

180 

(?) 

Fair. 
Ca-C0 3 



S3 



17 
Trace. 
65 
17 
5.3 
.0 
102 
147 
5.0 
.0 
340 
232 
240 
(?) 
Poor. 
Ca-S0 4 



a Numbers at heads of columns correspond to those on map (PI. II, in pocket) and in tables (p. 30-31). 

6 Computed. 

c N=noncorrosive; (?)=corrosion doubtful. 

CROMWELL. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The town of Cromwell forms a rudely triangular area that is 
bounded on the east by Connecticut River and on the west by 
Mattabesset River. On the north a straight boundary line sepa- 
rates Cromwell from the town of Rocky Hill. 

The first settlement within the limits of the present town was in 
1650, when several families from the vicinity of the present city of 
Middletown moved to the lowland along Connecticut River near the 
mouth of the Mattabesset, which was early known as Little River. 
Provision in the allotment of land was originally made for only 
15 families, but in 1670 there were 52 families in the locality. In 
1704 the settlement, which had become known as Upper Houses, was 
organized as Upper Middletown parish. The parish remained a 
portion of Middletown until 1851, when it was incorporated and 
named after Oliver Cromwell as a separate town, with its present 
boundaries. 

One post office, at the village of Cromwell, supplies the present 
needs of the town, as the population is largely concentrated at this 
village in the southeast, near Connecticut River. North Cromwell, 



CROMWELL. 33 

a mile away, is a separate community, though homes are closely 
spaced along the main highway northward from Cromwell village. 

In the. western part of the town a small community has grown 
up, about half a mile northwest of Westficld station, but in the 
main the houses in the western portion of the town are scattered. 

The Valley division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford 
"Railroad passes along the eastern border of the town and through 
the village of Cromwell. A trolley line extending northward 
from Middletown parallels the railroad to Cromwell village and 
thence continues northward along the main highway. The western 
border of the town is crossed by the trolley line between Middle- 
town and Berlin station. 

The area of the town, taking the middle of Connecticut River as 
its eastern boundary, is about 8,700 acres, according to planimeter 
measurement on the Middletown topographic map, but 400 acres ot 
this total is the water surface of Connecticut River. 1 The lower 
course of Mattabesset River is affected by the tide and adds per- 
haps 20 acres to the total water surface, and half a dozen small 
ponds add about 20 acres more. 

A wide lowland area along Mattabesset River and a smaller area 
beside Connecticut River comprise a total of fully 600 acres of 
marsh land, or 7 per cent of the total area of the town. . 

Originally the town was very largely wooded, in the lowlands as 
well as in the hilly portions. From the greater part the timber 
was long ago removed for fuel and for building, but a large acreage 
in the northeast is still covered with second and later growths. 
Numerous small wood lots (see PI. IV, in pocket) increase the 
total woodland to about 1,850 acres, or fully 21 per cent of the 
entire area. 

POPULATION AND INDUSTRIES. 

Early records of the population of Middle Houses are included in 
those of Middletown, so that definite figures of the growth of the 
newer settlement do not seem to be available. It is known, however, 
that from a population of about 250 'in 1704, when the parish was 
formed, Middle Houses increased to a total of 754 persons in 1776. 2 
During the first half of the nineteenth century commerce with the 
West Indies afforded a substantial industry and growth. In 1850 
the proposed town of Cromwell had a population of 1,275, and in the 
succeeding 20 years the town's population increased nearly 50 per 
cent. From 1870 to 1880 there was a notable loss, ow T ing to migra- 
tion to neighboring towns wdiere manufacturing was being more 

1 The area is given as 8,455 acres in the Connecticut State Register and Manual, p. 
419, 1915. 

2 Adams, J. C, History of Middletown Upper Houses, p. 57, New York, 1908. 

1.14445°— 20 3 



34 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 



actively developed and to the movement of farmers to lands farther 

west. A considerable increase in population was attained during 

© the next 10 years, however, and since 

| 1890 there has been a slow but fairly 

uniform growth. The available records 

of population of the area embraced by 

I the present town are shown in figure 5. 

The principal industry in the town is 

& agriculture. Hay and corn are the main 

crops, but much tobacco is grown in the 

northeast.. A. number of dairy farms 

| have also been established within recent 

years at scattered points throughout the 

g town. Employment to a number of 

% °. people in the town is afforded by a few 

| long- established factories, the principal 

| ones being a factory for toys and light 

I & hardware and a hammer works. Within 

° recent years extensive greenhouses near 

| Cromwell village have also given local 

H o employment. 

Z GEOLOGY.. 

o 

«| § Faulting, which has produced corn- 
's plex structure in the rock formations in 
Berlin, is not so pronounced in Crom- 
well, and the upper sandstone is the first 
rock penetrated in by far the greater 
portion of the town. The western part 
of the town is traversed by at least four 
faults, however, and the " Posterior " or 
upper trap sheet has thus been brought 
to the surface. The areas immediately 
underlain by this trap have been pains- 
takingly worked out by Davis, 1 as is 
shown on Plate III (in pocket), but the 
trap rock is actually exposed at only a 
few places, as indicated on Plate II (in 
pocket). The great fault that passes be- 
tween Lamentation and Higby moun- 
tains extends northeastward through 
Cromwell, but in this town the displace- 
ment of the rocks along the fault has 
| § been sufficient to bring the upper trap 

NOLLvinaoa sheet to the surface only near the 



1 


ro 
O 
c\T 




1 


N 

CO 
SB 






\ o 






/ 

ID/ 

nit 

SI 






1 \ 

\ 

\- 












1 

1 
1 
1 






1 
1 
1 

| 






1 
1 

1 






1 
1 








\ 












1 
I 
I 
1 






u 

it-v _ 



8 55 



1 Davis, W. M., The Triassic formation of Connecticut : U. S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth 
Aan. Kept., pt. 2, pi. 19, 1898, 



IMWEUU 35 

southern border oi the town. Farther north, although the displace- 
ment of the beds is several hundred feet, the upper ne forms 
the rock immediately imderlying the tri oi i,iie fault. 

In tin' v n1 of the town an extensive fault west of the belt of 

upper trap rock nasbrought bedsof.the i a " sandstone along 

sastern side up into juxtaposition is of the upper sandstone 

along its western side. Deep wells drilled between this fault and the 
belt oi trap rock will therefore penetrate the main I t as the 

first trap, whereas deep wells drilled west of the fault will iirst pene- 
trate the upper trap sheet. The approximate position of the several 
trap sheets and sandstone formations beneath the town of Cromwell 
is shown in the structure section C-D on Plate III (in pocket). 
The lowlands along Connecticut and Mattabesset rivers are covered 

CD 

by stratified glacial drift. The central and northeastern portions of 
the town are also covered by sandy stratified deposits, which are 
believed to have been spread out as a plain by water from the glacial 
ice front at a period when ice that still lingered farther south partly 
dammed up the valleys of Mattabesset River and of Connecticut 
River near Middletown. 1 Over the sand plain and in the marsh lands 
along the Mattabesset and the Connecticut, the drift is probably 
deep, but on the western border of Cromwell village the underlying 
sandstone is exposed in a large abandoned quarry. Other outcrops 
of the sandstone in the vicinity show that the drift is only a few 
feet thick on the slopes near Cromwell village, and the rock has also 
been exposed in trenches dug for water mains. 

The higher portions of the town are formed by rounded hills that 
are covered by glacial till and are probably, in part at least, molded 
into drumlin forms by thick layers of the glacial debris. In one 
locality in the northwest the covering of till is very thin, however, 
and numerous ledges of sandstone are exposed. 

SURFACE FEATURES. 

The central and northwestern portions of the town constitute a 
hilly area whose greatest elevation is reached in a hilltop in the 
northwest, nearly 300 feet above sea level. A number of other hills 
are more than 200 feet high, but the area is deeply incised by several 
streams, and the slopes also drop rapidly to the west and south to 
Mattabesset Eiver. 

In the northeastern portion of the town lies a sand plain that has 
i, mean elevation of about 180 feet, but it has been dissected from the 
north and from the south by the headwaters of minor streams. On 
the east the plain drops rapidly to Connecticut River. On the south- 

Loughlin, G. F., The clays and clay industries of Connecticut: Connecticut Geol. 
an*. Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 4, p. 24, 1905. 



36 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

east the surface slopes down to a wide expanse of lowland extending 
to the river. 

The southeast corner of the town is occupied by an extensive marsh 
land between the Connecticut and the Mattabesset, and this marsh 
extends up the Mattabesset for nearly 3 miles above its mouth. Con- 
necticut River along the entire eastern side of the town and the 
Mattabesset to at least the upper limit of the marsh land are within 
the influence of the tide. All the lowlands of the town are therefore 
only slightly above sea level. 

Most of the hilltops and adjacent slopes have long been cultivated, 
and only detached areas of woodland remain in the central and 
western portions of the town. The largest remaining wooded areas 
are along stream valleys on the northern border, and on the slopes 
from the sand plain down to the Connecticut. 

STREAMS. 

Connecticut River has a fairly uniform width of about a quarter 
of a mile where it forms the eastern boundary of Cromwell. It is 
navigable from its mouth to the city of Hartford, 15 miles above 
Cromwell village, and formerly was the principal means of trans- 
portation for the region. Since the construction of railroads, how- 
ever, the river transportation has became of minor importance. 

The eastern portion of the town drains fairly directly to Con- 
necticut River through a few small brooks. Dividend Brook, which 
has its course mainly in Rocky Hill, swings southward and then 
sharply northeastward to the Connecticut. The southernmost part 
of its course crosses the Rocky Hill-Cromwell boundary and drains 
the northeastern border of Cromwell. Its average flow at the road 
crossing at the southernmost point of its course is probably less than 
1 second-foot. On May 6, 1915, it carried 0.6 second-foot of water. 

A small tributary that parallels the north border of the town 
has been locally called Peat Swamp Brook. Peaty deposits in its 
marsh-land course were intermittently prospected for many years, 
but the material does not seem to be of commercial value. 

A smaller perennial stream drains a portion of the eastern slopes 
of the town directly to the river. 

The greater part of the sand plain in the north-central part of 
the town is drained by a brook that flows southeastward through 
North Cromwell village to the Connecticut. In its upper portion 
this stream is ponded in three places, the upper two ponds regulating 
the flow to the lowest, which furnishes power to one or more fac- 
tories. Below North Cromwell the brook flows for nearly a mile 
across the lowland to Connecticut River. Because of the several 
ponds and the mill dam at and above North Cromwell a satisfactory 
estimate of the normal flow of the brook was not obtained. It seems, 



CROMWELL. 37 

however, to have a considerably larger discharge per unit drainage 
area than Dividend Brook. Its upper course is intrenched 60 feet 
or more in the sand plain, hence it probably receives considerable 
water by seepage inflow from the deep sandy deposits and perhaps 
also by springs that issue close to its channel. 

The southern and western portions of the town arc drained by a 
number of small brooks that flow directly to Mattabesset River, 
which forms the town boundary on the south and west. The Matta- 
besset itself is affected by the tide for half its course along the Crom- 
well border. Above the limit of the tide it is a sluggish stream, so 
polluted by factory wastes and sewage that few fish inhabit it. Its 
average flow during the low water of summer and autumn is about 
50 second-feet at the northwest corner of the town. Half a mile 
above its mouth it is joined from the south by Coginchaug River, 
and it enters the Connecticut with a mean low-water discharge of 
about 70 second feet. 1 The stream receives a normal low-water ac- 
cession of only about 2 second-feet between the northwest corner of 
Cromwell and the mouth of the Coginchaug. Several of the indi- 
vidual brooks that enter this portion of the Mattabesset both from 
the south and from the north at times carry more than 2 second- feet, 
however. On May 5, 1915, the brook that enters the north side of the 
Mattabesset one-third of a mile west of Westfield station had a dis- 
charge of 3.7 second-feet, at a time when the Mattabesset shortly 
above the mouth of this brook carried 42 second-feet. 

The brooks that drain the southern and western slopes of Crom- 
well are at present almost unused for the development of power, but 
in former times the largest ones were of some importance for this 
purpose. A grant to a mill site on Chestnut Brook 2 was obtained in 
1655, but of late years this stream has been used little if at all for 
the development of power. 

WATER SUPPLIES. 

Surface water. — A few years ago a pumping plant was established 
shortly below the power dam at North Cromwell, and water from the 
brook was delivered to consumers in Cromwell village. In 1915 this 
plant, owned by the Cromwell Water Co., a private corporation, com- 
prised an electrically driven centrifugal pump, lifting water from 
the brook below the power dam to two standpipes in the highest part 
of the village. (See PL IV, in pocket.) The distribution system 
comprised 8 miles of mains. The pump was run three to eight hours 
each night to supply the average daily use of about 175,000 gallons. 

1 Report on the investigation of the pollution of streams, p. 45, Connecticut State 
Board of Health, 1915. 

2 Adams, J. C, Middletown Upper Houses, p. 15, New York, 1908. 



38 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONE". 

In 1915 the Cromwell Water Co. supplied about 1,500 people, 1 or 
about two-thirds of the population of the town. The remaining 
third, scattered throughout the town,, depend chiefly on shallow dug 
wells for water supply, A few drilled wells have been put clown in 
the western portion, however, in places where the glacial material is 
thin, and a few springs are used. 

Water in . stratified drift. — As- the greater part of Cromwell is 
covered by stratified drift, most of the dug wells obtain water from 
this material. The average depth to water in the 23 wells in strati- 
fied deposits that were measured early in May, 1915, was 12.5 feet. 
The water level differed notably in the individual wells, but as shown 
in figure 8 (p. 16) the average depth on hills, slopes,, or lowlands in 
the stratafled drift did not differ notably. In general the depth to 
water in the eastern part of the sand plain that occupies the north- 
central part of the town was greater than in the western portion of 
the plain and indicated a marked eastward slope of the water table, 
caused, presumably, by the deeply intrenched drainage course of the 
brook that flows through North Cromwell. Although the wells in. 
the sand plain obtain ample supplies of water for individual families, 
the greatest available supplies of ground water in the town are prob- 
ably stored in the lowland east of Cromwell village and in the more 
marshy land in the southeast corner of the town. Wells were not 
seen in either area, and no test borings were reported which might 
show the character of the stratified drift in either place. It is prob- 
able that the lowland along the Mattabesset is underlain by clay beds 
similar to those of the brick-clay pits near Newfield, and hence large 
yields of water could not be obtained from wells sunk in these 
lowlands. The area east of Cromwell village is, however, probably 
underlain by more sandy material, in which there may be large sup- 
plies of water that could be developed by shallow wells and pump- 
ing plants for the use of neighboring industrial establishments. 

Analyses of water from three dug wells in the stratified drift (see 
table, p. 40) show that some of the wells T of which Nos. 6 and 7 are 
examples, yield very soft and pure water. Other domestic wells, 
however, which are situated adjacent to kitchens or to outhouses may 
become dangerously polluted by organic wastes, resulting in abnor- 
mally high amounts of chloride and nitrate. Well 41 is an example 
of such a well ; the chloride and nitrate radicles constitute more than 
half of the total solids, which they have increased to an extent that 
is abnormal for this area. 

Water in till. — The records of 10 dug wells in the till, chiefly in 
the western portion of the town, indicate that the water level is there 
on an average about three-quarters as deep as in the stratified drift 
of the lower areas. There is, however, as marked a variation in the 

1 Connecticut Public Utilities Commission Rept. 1915, p. 649. 



CEOMWELL. 



39 



water level in individual wells in (ill as there is in the wells in strati- 
fied drill. 

Water in sandstone. — Four dialled wellswere observed in thi taw a, 

All are in tin- western part, in localities where tin- glacial '•'ii'i is 
too thin to serve ns a reliable water-bearing formation. The wells 
are drilled 63 to H42 feet deep, (lie depth to water in them being 20 
to 30 feel in May, L&15. In the deepest well (No. 26) the - Po terior" 
trap siieei was drilled through and a dependable water supply 
obtained from the underlying sandstone. In the other three \ 
only sandstone was penetrated below the till. 

Springs. — Three of the four springs noticed in the town are used 
for domestic supply. Each of these three springs issues from the 
stratified drift and yields only about half a gallon a minute, but each 
is said to have a perennial flow. The fourth spring issues from the 
trap in a small road-metal quarry and supplies a roadside trough. 

RECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 

The wells and springs indicated on Plate II (in pocket) and tabu- 
lated in the following list are believed to be typical and to show the 
ground-water conditions in different portions of the town. 

Dug irells in Cromirell. 



Hap 

No. 



Topographic 
position. 



Eleva- 




tion 

above 

sea 


Total 
depth. 


level. 




Feet. 


Feet. 


110 


22 


140 


25 


145 


15 


ISO 


37 


180 


23 


190 


10 


175 


7 


175 


21 


190 


19 


185 


29 


165 


23 


50 


9 


150 


11 


110 


20 


170 


18 


170 


9 


190 


18 


200 


18 


59 


15 


55 


18 


50 


15 


80 


18 


30 


15 


30 


14 


30 


14 


170 


18 


130 


11 


95 


30 


110 


28 


130 


32 


30 


17 


60 


20 


20 


15 



Depth 
to 

water 
Mav, 
1915. 



Method of lift. 



Remarks. 



Knoll 

Slope 

Flat 

Slope 

....do 

Base of hill.. 

Flat 

....do 

Knoll 

Flat 

....do 

Swale 

Slope 

do 

....do 

Flat 

Base of knoll 

Knoll 

Slope 

do 

....do 

....do 

Slope 

Base of hill.. 

Swale 

Knoll 

Saddle 

Slope 

do 

....do 

Base of hill.. 

Slope 

Lowland 



35 



Rope and bucket. 

Windlass 

Piieher pump 



Windlass . 



12 i Pitcher pump. 



Windlass 

Rope and bucket. 

Windlass 

Hand pump 

Windlass 

do 

do 

Rope and bucket. 
Wheel and bucket. 

Hand pump 

Wheel and bucket . 

Windlass 

do 

do 

do 

Wheel and bucket. 
Windlass 



Wheel and bucket. 

Windlass 

Chain pump 

Pitcher pump 

Windlass 

do. 



.do. 
.do. 
.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



Never dry. 

Dry in summer. 

Never dry. Benjamin Rooney, 

owner. (See analysis, p. 40.) 
Never dry. J. W. Gardner, owner. 

(See analysis, p. 40.) 
Dry in summer; water level affected 

quickly by rains. 
Never dry. 

Do: 

Do. 

Gets low but nor dry. 
Never dry. 

La small, marsh}- patch. 
Dry in summer. 

Never dry; supplies several families. 
Never dry. 
Dry in summer. 

Never dry. 

Dry in dry summers. 
Supplies 5 families during summer; 
trap penetrated. 



Never dry. 
Dry in summer. 
Never dry. 

Only slightly used. 

Dry in summer. 
O. A. Perkins, owner, 
p. 40.) 



(See analysis, 



I 



40 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

Drilled tcells in Cromwell. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic 
position. 


Eleva- 
tion 
above 
• sea 
level. 


Total 
depth. 


Depth 

to 
water 
Mav, 
1915. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Kind of rock. 


Yield. 


Remarks. 


2 


Slope 

do 

do 

Knoll 


Feet. 
110 
130 

90 

70 


Feet. 
63 
112 

142 

65 


Feet. 
30 
30 

20 

20 


Feet. 


Sandstone 


Gallons 

per 
minute. 




3 


do 






26 

28 


9 


Through trap to 

sandstone. 
Sandstone 


4| 


first struck. 



Springs in Cromwell. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic 
position. 


Elevation 

above sea 

level. 


Tempera- 
ture. 


Yield. 


Bedrock. 


Remarks. 


5 
18 


Slope 

do 

do 

do 


Feet. 
1*0 
120 

70 
70 


°F. 
48 


Gallons 
per min- 
ute. 

1 

2 


Sandstone 

do 

Trap 


Part of domestic supply. 
Domestic supply. 


30 


50 




32 


Sandstone 











ANALYSES OF GROUND WATER. 

The following table contains the analyses of three samples of 
water from dug wells in the town of Cromwell. The analyses are 
discussed on pages 19-21. 

Chemical composition and 'Classification of water from wells in Cromwell. 
[Parts per million. Samples collected in May, 1915 ; S. C. Dinsmore, analyst.] 



-K)6. 



Silica (Si0 2 ) 

Iron(Fe) ".. 

Calcium (Ca) 

Magnesium (Mg) 

Sodium and potassium (Na- 

Carbonate radicle (CO3) 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 

Sulphate radicle (SO4) 

Chloride radicle (CI) -. 

Nitrate radicle (NO3) 

Total dissolved solids at 180° C 

Total hardness as CaC03 b 

Probable scale-forming ingredients & . 

Probability of corrosion & e 

Quality for boiler use 

Chemical character 



6« 


7 


15 


17 


Trace. 


Trace. 


14 


11 


5.0 


0.8 


8.8 


10 


.0 


.0 


9.7 


14 


11 


29 


14 


14 


44 


10 


119 


93 


56 


47 


65 


57 


C 


C 


Bad. 


Bad. 


Ca-N0 3 


Ca-S0 4 



22 

Trace. 

107 

29 

170 

.0 
105 
117 
102 
500 
.,108 
386 
390 
C 

Very bad. 
Na-NOe 



o Numbers at heads of columns correspond to those on map (PI. II, in pocket) and in table (p. 39). 
b Computed". 
« C = corrosive. 



MEHIDEN. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



The town of Meriden occupies the southwestern part of the area 
considered in this report. The area was first organized as a parish 
of the town of Wallingford, which adjoins Meriden on the south. 



MEIUDEN. 41 

The parish is generally considered to have been named from Meriden, 
in Warwickshire, England, l>ut doubt as to this source of the name 
has been raised in favor of a farm near Dorking, in Surrey County, 
England. ' 

lu L730 the population of the parish was only about 250, for immi- 
gration was not rapid, and after the French and Indian War migra- 
tion was westward rather than into the Meriden region. By the 
close of the American devolution the population of the parish of 
Meriden was probably about 500, and in 1806, when the settlement 
was incorporated as a separate town, it contained about 1,100 people, 2 
The present population is concentrated in the center of the town, in 
the city of Meriden, which was chartered in 1867. South Meriden 
and East Meriden are communities about a mile beyond the corporate 
limits of the city. 

The area of the town is close to 15,000 acres, according to plani- 
meter measurement on the Meriden and Middletown topographic 
maps. 3 Nearly 24 per cent of the total area is wooded (see PL 
IV, in pocket ) with small second and later growths of chestnut, oak, 
maple, and other native trees. There is only about 200 acres of 
marshland in the town, and this land consists largely of strips along 
the principal brooks. Nearly 300 acres, or 2 per cent of the total 
area, is covered by the water surfaces of several ponds. 

POPULATION AND INDUSTRIES. 

During the first few decades after incorporation Meriden gained 
only slowly in population. The development of manufactures, 
which were early started in and near the city, soon gave impetus to 
settlement, however, and between 1810 and 1850 the population nearly 
doubled. An even greater increase took place in the succeeding 
decade, and since 1860 the growth has continued at a rapid rate, 
Meriden being now one of the most important manufacturing cities 
in the State. The accompanying diagram (fig. 6) shows the grow T th 
in population of the town since its incorporation, and of the city 
since 1880, when the population of the city as distinct from the town 
first appears in the census reports. 

The principal industry of Meriden is the manufacture of sterling 
silverware and plated ware, on which account it is sometimes called 
the " silver city." Other important industries are the manufacture 
of nickel and granite ware, of Britannia ware, cut glass, electric 
and other lamps, clocks, furniture trimmings, and many minor arti- 
cles. Cutlery and other small articles are made at South Meriden, 
and several small factories are located in East Meriden 

1 Curtis, G. M., and Gillespie, C. B., A century of Meriden, p. 4G, Meriden, 1906. 

2 Idem, p. 333. 

3 The area of 10,483 acres, given on p. 432 of the Connecticut State Register and 
Manual, 1915, is evidently in error. 



42 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEIST AREA, CONK. 



The rolling slopes outside the city are extensively cultivated, field 
crops being raised chiefly, though there are numerous small orchards 
of apples and other deciduous fruits. 

The double-track line of the New York, New Haven & Hartford 
Railroad passes through the city of Meriden and gives easy access 
both to New Haven, on tidewater, 18 miles to the south, and. to 
Hartford, the State capital, at the head of navigation on Connecti- 
cut River, 18 miles to the north. Inter-urban trolley lines connect 
Meriden with villages to the east and to the west, and the principal 



36,000 



32,000 



24,000 



O 20,000 



£; 16,000 













. 












1 
35,414 




















A 


■28,695 


32,066 
23,528 ! 


















f 




^2 4.296 


-27,265 


















V 


^1,652 • 




















18,340 


y 






















/ / 
/ / 
/ / 
/ / 
/ / 


15,540 




















10,495/ 


/ / 

/ 
/ 






















"7,426 6,C 


00 (CITY 


NCORPOFt 


AT£D) 






1,100 




1,309 


1,708 


1,880 


6,559 


1867 

1 










1 


1,249 



18061810 1820 1830 1S40 1850 1860 1870 1880 1830 1900 19101914 

Figure 6. — Curves showing population of the town and city of Meriden, Conn. 

highways are either concreted or metaled, affording easy means of 
communication by automobile. 

GEOLOGY. 

The geologic structure in the town of Meriden is largely deter- 
mined by two extensive faults that cross it in a northeast-southwest 
direction. (See PL III, in pocket.) Of these major faults the 
western one is believed to have caused a displacement of not less 
than 2,000 feet and the eastern one of not less than 1,300 feet. 1 
Along these two great fault zones uplift and offset of the rocks 
has taken place and the " Main " trap sheet has been broken and 



1 Davis, W. M., The Triassic formation of Connecticut : U. S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth 
Ann. Rept., pt. 2, p. 96, 1898. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL suitVEY 



WATER-ST7PPL? PAPER 449 PLATE Vir 



■y ^^r^^'v:^^ 




A. CLIFF OF TRAP IN CATHOLE GORGE, MERIDEN, CONN. 




B. BOULDER-STREWN FIELD NEAR HARBOR BROOK, MERIDEN, CONN. 



MERIDEN. 43 

uptilted, so that its edges now form the <1 i (Ts of Hanging Hills, 
Lamentation Mountain, and the Higby-Beseck mountain mass. X 
near view of one of these cliffs is shown in Plate VII, !. The man- 
ner in which repeated faulting h:is caused the " Main' 1 trap sheet 
to form the extensive cliffs ©f the Banging Bills is shown in 
structure section K-V on Plate 111. The uplift was so great that 
the "Anterior " or lower trap sheet is also expose;! along the b 
of the mountains, as shown on Plate III. This lower trap sheet 
fo. his :i prominent shelf or bench below the main cliffs of the Hang- 
ing Hills, as shown in Plate V, A. At the base of Lamentation 
Mountain it also forms a minor ridge, but along liigby ami Beseek 
mountains it does not appreciably affect the topography. The ap- 
parent secondary bench of Beseek Mountain, south of Black Pond, 
that is shown in Plate V, B, is a more distant portion of the cliff 
formed by the " Main " trap sheet. 

In the northern and eastern portions of Meriden the successive 
rock formations from the lower sandstone upward to the "Main'" 
trap sheet are exposed. The lower sandstone is the uppermost rock 
in the greater part of the town, and in drilling wells in these 
areas, except for the remote possibility of penetrating* a dike, no 
trap rock will be met. One dike of diabase rock, which is similar to 
the trap rock of the several sheets, is exposed at several points south 
of Meriden, but it is believed to be the only dike of note in the 
region. A small dike near Baileyville, in Middlefield, has been de- 
scribed by Griswold. 1 The northernmost exposure of this dike that 
was noticed is in the unpaved roadway of Prospect Halls Avenue. 
The dike there appears to be only 2 or 3 feet wide, but half a mile 
southward, in the western portion of Walnut Grove Cemetery, it 
has a width of 15 feet or more. At this locality it is best exposed in 
a small quarry or pit, which is probably the Golden Parlor mine, 
where prospecting for copper was carried on many years ago. Far- 
ther south the dike rock is well exposed as a very low rocky riclge. 
Its surface exposures terminate at a road cut, -i feet deep, where the 
dike is about 40 feet wide. The eastern contact between the dike and 
the sandstone is well shown in this cut. 

The lands along the principal streams in the town are covered by 
stratified drift. The bedded character of this material is shown in 
numerous gravel banks, such as the one illustrated in Plate VI. B. 
"Well records show that in many places this drift is shallow, but along 
the lower course of Harbor Brook the deposits are deep. Through 
the center of the city of Meriden the western border of the lowland 
along Harbor Brook is probably marked by a steep, buried bedrock- 
slope; for it is said that whereas the western portion of Winthrop 

1 Griswold, L. S., A basic dike! in the Connecticut Triassic : Harvard Coll. Mus. Comp. 
Zool. Bull., vol. 16, pp. 239-242, 1893. 



44 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

Hotel is built on sandstone, the eastern portion rests on piles driven 
into unconsolidated materials. 

South Meriden is situated on a sand plain that extends from Quin- 
nipiac Eiver westward to the hills that limit the river valley and 
southward down the river valley for several miles. This plain was 
probably formed by the reassorting and redeposition of sand and 
finer materials by water that was produced by the melting of the 
glacial ice and that spread over the valley before a definite channel 
had been established. In these porous sand-plain deposits the city 
of Meriden has constructed very successful filter beds a short dis- 
tance below the town line. 

In the southeastern portion of the town there is a low but well- 
developed esker in the upper part of the valley of Harbor Brook. A 
road makes use of this low, narrow ridge, which forms a well-drained 
thoroughfare through the meadow land on each side. 

i Rolling hills occupy considerable portions of the town. Most of 
these hills are elongated in a uniform direction east of north. They 
are drumlins, but around their bases and even on some of the higher 
slopes the till is very thin. Unstratified material also occupies some 
of the lower lands and in the lee of the prominent trap ridges 
occasionally forms boulder-covered areas, like that shown in Plate 
VII, B. In numerous places, especially in road cuts, the underlying 
sandstone is well exposed for distances ranging from a few yards 
to several rods. The observed areas of such exposures are necessarily 
exaggerated on Plate II, in order that they may be shown on the 
map. Doubtless the sandstone is exposed in many other places that 

I were not seen by the writer. 

SURFACE FEATURES. 

The highest points in the town, and by far the most prominent 
elevations in the central lowland of Connecticut, are the Hanging 
Hills, which reach a maximum elevation of 1,007 feet in West Peak, 
on the northwest border. East Peak, on which an observation tower 
38 feet high has been erected, and South Mountain and Cathole 
Mountain, farther east, are also prominent though lower summits 
of the Hanging Hills. In the northeast part of the town Lamenta- 
tion Mountain proper and its southern extension, known as Chauncy 
Peak, also f orm prominent cliff-bordered masses. These higher 
areas are practically all wooded and have the usual second and 
later growths of the native trees. 

The central portion of the town comprises a belt of lowland 
extending from the headwaters of small streams in the northeast to 
the valley of Quinnipiac River in the southwest, the lowest point in 
the town being where this stream crosses the southern border, at an 
elevation of about 55 feet. 



MERIDEN. 



45 



The lowland of the town is bordered on each side by rolling hills, 
which form the greater part of the surface. 

streams. 

Quinnipiac River enters the town of Meriden through a gorge cut 
200 feet deep in sandstone and crosses the southwest portion of the 

town, receiving the drainage from nearly all of it. In its upper 
portion the stream is used for power development at a number of 
places, and at South Meriden the Meriden Cutlery Co. obtains power 
at the outlet of Hanover Pond, a water body of about 35 acres that' is 
formed chiefly by a dam across the river. Mr. Harold T. Burgess, 
civil engineer, of Meriden, has furnished the curve of discharge of 
the river at the outlet of Hanover Pond, which is presented in 
fimire 7. 



H 
hJ 
UJ 

*T 300 

a 
z 
o 
(J 

UJ 

in 200 
z 

UJ 
CD 

< 100 

X 

o 




































































m 


- 




















o 







Apr. 



May 



July 



Aug. Sept. Oct. 



Dec. 



Figure 7. — Diagram showing monthly discharge of Quinnipiac River at outlet of Han- 
over Tond, Meriden, Conn. 

This record shows that the maximum flow, which is usually 
attained in March, is about eight times the minimum flow of the 
summer months. Storage ponds, however, regulate the flow of the 
stream sufficiently to make it fairly dependable for the development 
of power throughout the year. 

Harbor Brook, which empties into Hanover Pond, drains the 
eastern part of Meriden through its North Branch, which heads in 
marsh land at the base of Chauncy Peak, and through its other 
branches it drains the southeastern part of the town. In their upper 
portions these streams are fairly pure, and shortly below their 
junction they supply a chain of ice ponds, but below these ponds the 
main stream flows through the city of Meriden and is polluted by 
factory wastes. The daily flow T of the stream is affected by the 
opening and closing of the pond gates, but the average discharge 
into Hanover Pond is probably about 10 second-feet. 

Cathole Brook drains the slopes on each side of the mountain of 
the same name, and flows southward through a small valley. Its 



46 GROUND WATER IN THE MEMBER AREA, CG1TE". 

western branch lias been dammed and a small pond has been formed 
at the entrance to Cathole Gorge. This branch normally carries per- 
haps 1 second-foot of water, and the main or eastern branch carries 
somewhat more. About 1 mile above Hanover Pond Cathole Brook 
joins Sodom Brook, which heads in the slopes of South Mountain. 
Shortly below the junction of these two streams Crow Hollow Brook, 
which heads near the base of West Peak, also enters, and the com- 
bined discharge into Hanover Pond averages perhaps 5 second-feet 
of water. 

Meetinghouse Brook and its tributary Spruce Dale Brook are 
small streams that drain a southern portion of the town southward 
to the Quinnipiac. 

WATER SUPPLIES-. 

Surface water. — The municipal water supply of the city of 
Meriden is furnished by several reservoirs, which are shown on 
Plate IV (in pocket). Merimere reservoir, which was constructed 
in 1888 in the gap between East Peak and South Mountain, has an 
available capacity of about 341,000,000 gallons and furnishes a 
gravity water supply. Kenmere reservoir was later built on another 
stream, and the water is being pumped from it to Elmere distribut- 
ing reservoir. In 1895 Hallmere reservoir was constructed, higher 
up on the same stream,, for storage of water. Excess water from 
Elmere reservoir is also diverted into Hallmere reservoir by a ditch 
across the low divide between the two drainage courses. With the 
rapid growth of the city the reservoir supply has proved inadequate 
during the late summer, and emergency pumping stations at Hanover 
Pond (Hanmere station) and at Baldwin Pond (Baldmere station) 
have been used for short periods. The quality of the water from 
these two ponds is poor, however, and in order to provide for a 
better and more adequate supply, Broad Brook reservoir, in the town 
of Cheshire, was constructed in 1915. This reservoir has a capacity 
of 1,200,000,000 gallons. From it the water is lifted by electrically 
driven centrifugal pumps to a distributing reservoir on Johnson 
Hill. Thence the water is supplied to the mains by gravity under a 
head of about 250 feet in the business section of the city. Pollution 
of this new supply has been guarded against hy the purchase of 
farms adjacent to the reservoir and the removal of the buildings. 

In excavating for the foundations of the Broad Brook dam well- 
preserved glacial scratches were found on the sandstone underlying 
the till. An average thickness of 28 feet of sandstone was removed 
until diabase was reached, evident^ dike material, containing copper 
stains. This rock was uncovered at a depth of about 44 feet, en- 
tirely across the dam site. Similar dikes a few miles to the south 
have long been prospected for minerals. 






MERIDEU. 47 

In addition to the people within the city limits, a few families 
in tin 1 northern part of the town of Meriden and in the southern 
part of Berlin, near whose houses the city mains pas-, arc supplied 
with water £rom this system. 

Several industrial establishments in the city have sunk wells to 
supply their factories* These wells have been only partly 
i'ul. however, for the water obtained is too hard to be satisfactory 
for boiler use. ami tin.' factories depend on the city supply for water 
for this purpose. 

The community of East Meriden and the numerous farmhouses 
throughout the town depend on individual wells for a water supply. 

Wat< r in st ratified drift. — Only a small part of the town of Meri- 
den is covered by stratified drift and only 11 of the 55 dug wells ob- 
served that obtain water from the glacial materials are sunk in 
stratified drift. Wells 6, 9, 26, 35, and 106 obtain water from the 
sandstone, and hence are not included in the present discussion. The 
average depth -to w T ater in the 11 wells in stratified drift was 15 feet 
early in May, 1915, but the water level in the several wells ranged 
from 7 to 24 feet. (See fig. 3, p. 16.) The stratified drift along the 
stream valleys above Hanover Pond seems from the available records 
neither to be very deep nor to contain extensive layers of good water- 
bearing sand and gravel. In the plain south of Hanover Pond, 
however, the stratified drift seems to contain extensive water-bearing 
layers of sand, and ground-water development on a large scale in 
the town could probably be best undertaken in this lowland. The 
Meriden sewage beds discharge into the sand a short distance south 
of the town line, but it is not probable that the diluent seeps north- 
ward and contaminates the beds within the town of Meriden. 

The average depth to water in the 44 wells in till that were meas- 
ured was nearly 2 feet greater than in the wells in drift, being 16.7 
feet as compared with 15 feet, and a greater range in depth was also 
found in the wells in till. Both the least depth (1 foot) and the 
greatest depth (43 feet) to water in dug wells were noted in wells 
in till on the hillsides. 

Water in sandstone. — A large proportion of the dug wells fail in 
summer, and hence of late years many of them are being improved 
by drilling deeper, or else the dug wells are abandoned and drilled 
wells are sunk to furnish better and more permanent domestic water 
supplies. 

Deep wells have been drilled in the city of Meriden by several in- 
dustrial concerns, in order to obtain supplies for their factories. 
In general these wells yield moderate amounts of water, but it is only 
fair for use in boilers, and the softer surface water of the munici- 
pal system has been again utilized for making steam. The chemi- 
cal character of the water from three of the drilled wells is shown 
bv the analyses of water from wells 7. 41. and 52, given on page 52, 



48 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

The water from well 7 is fairly soft and contains only small 
amounts of mineral matter in addition to the calcium and bicarbonate 
radicles, which, combined as calcium bicarbonate, form Avith the silica 
the principal constituent of the scale that results from the use of this 
water in boilers. The water from well 41 contains nearly twice as 
much total solids and is noticeably harder. Well 52 was drilled in 
1905 by the Charles Parker Co. to a depth of 1,000 feet in an attempt 
to obtain a large supply of water suitable for industrial use. A 
pumping test of about 50 gallons a minute is said not to have over- 
taxed the well, and the water is used for some purposes in the factory. 
This well water forms a very hard white scale in boilers, however, 
and the city water is used for making steam. The analysis shows 
that in addition to the relatively high calcium and bicarbonate the 
water contains a rather large amount of scale-forming sulphate. 

Five wells drilled in the grounds of the Edward Miller Co. (well 
group 43) in 1895 are said to be the first deep wells sunk in Meriden. 
Three of the wells are 300 feet deep, the other two being respectively 
250 and 350 feet in depth. The deepest well was not successful and 
has been abandoned. The shallowest well is said to have the great- 
est yield. It and the three 300-foot wells supply the needs of the 
factory except for making steam, for which purpose the softer muni- 
cipal water is used. The amount of well water that is pumped varies 
according to the factory needs, but a supply of 75,000 to 100,000 gal- 
lons a day of 10 hours is said to have been obtained at times from 
the four wells. 

The factory of the Meriden Curtain Fixture Co. and the factory 
of Foster, Merriam & Co. each have a- well about 300 feet deep. The 
well of Foster, Merriam & Co. is said to have a capacity of about 170 
gallons a minute, but that of the Meriden Curtain Fixture Co. 
yields only about 25 gallons a minute. Like the other deep wells of 
the town, these also yield water that is too hard to be satisfactory 
for boiler use, but they have supplied other needs of the factories. 

The records of the drilled wells in Meriden show that in the sand- 
stone, which throughout most of the town is below the " Anterior " 
or lowest trap sheet, never-failing domestic supplies can be obtained 
from wells about 100 feet deep. Supplies of less than 10 gallons a 
minute are usually developed at this depth, however. The 300-foot 
wells of the Edward Miller Co. do not seem to have obtained appre- 
ciably larger supplies than shallower drilled wells in the town. A 
562-foot well drilled by the International Silver Co. did not obtain 
water that was suitable for their factory needs. The deepest well 
that was reported is that of the Charles Parker Co. (No. 52). By 
drilling to 1,000 feet a supply of more than 50 gallons a minute was 
obtained, but it was not learned whether the main water supply was 



MERIDEN. 



49 



struck near the bottom of the well in a porous sandstone or whether 
it was obtained from numerous joints and crevices in the fairly solid 
sandstone. Although this one well, 1,000 feet deep, is capable of 
yielding fully 50 gallons a minute, other wells, sunk to equal depth 
in the sandstone, may not be equally successful in tapping a fairly 
large supply of water. 

Springs. — A number of springs in Meriden have been developed 
for domestic use, and water from Redrock, Hillside, and Live Oak 
springs (Nos. 33, 39, and 68) is bottled and sold locally for table 
use. The analyses of water from Hillside Spring (No. 39, p. 52) 
shows that it has a fairly low total solid content. Calcium and bicar- 
bonate, two of the substances that render water hard and form scale 
in boilers, are the principal constituents in this spring water, as in 
the well waters of the region. Most of the springs issue directly 
from the sandstone. Spring 4, however, issues at the base of a steep 
slope in which trap is exposed, and spring 99 seems to derive its 
supply from the till-eovered slopes above it. 



RECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 

The following lists give data concerning certain wells, scattered 
throughout the town of Meriden, that are indicated on Plate II and 
are believed to be typical of their respective localities. Data con- 
cerning certain springs are also listed. Several of these springs have 
been developed commercially, and their waters are locally sold for 
table use. 

Dug irclls in Maiden. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic 
position. 


Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 


Total 
depth. 


Depth 
to 

water 
Mav, 
1915. 


Method of lift. 


Remarks. 


2 


Base of hill 

Lowland 


Feet. 
200 
170 
210 

190 
170 
180 
210 
280 
380 
130 
125 
150 
150 
170 
210 

390 
330 
300 

350 

350 
140 
200 
300 


F,<t. 
22 
12 
26 

42 
IS 
31 
19 
23 
22 
30 
22 
*10 
20 
35 
24 

35 
16 
23 

28 

27 
12 
30 
50 


Feet. 

15 

4 

15 

35 
12 
23 
16 
19 
20 
J9 
16 

9 
17 
27 

7 

30 
11 
21 
13 

15 
10 
24 
43 




Near marshy tract. 

Usually dries in summer. Entire 

distance in sandstone. 
Entire distance in sandstone. 
Never dry. 
Sandstone penetrated. 


5 

6 


Chain pump 

do 

W heel and bucket . 

Pitcher pump 

W heel and bucket . 
Chain pump 


9 

10 
11 
17 

IS 


do 

do 

do 

do 

Base of hill 

Slope 


19 




Do 


21 


Base of hill 






22 




Unused but never dry. 


23 


do 

Lowland 

Slope 




25 




Do. 


26 






27 
29 


Lowland 

Hilltop 


Pit :her pump 


150' feet from brook and 1-1 feet above 
it. 


30 


do 

do 


Do. 


32 


do 

Hilltop 

do 

Base of hill 

Slope 


Do 


35 

36 


Chain pump 


Dry in summer; most of distance In 

sandstone. 


42 
44 


Rope and bucket.. 
Wheel and bucket. 
do 


Gets low but not dry. 


45 


do 


Dry in summer. 



154445°— 20- 



50 GROUND WATER I1S T THE MERIDEN AREA, CONS'. 

Dug wells in Meriden — Continued. 



No. 



51 
53 
55 
56 

57 
59 
60 
61 
62 
63 
64 
65 
66 
67 
70 
71 
72 
77 
78 
79 
81 

82 
84 
85 
88 
91 
92 
93 
95 
97 
98 
102 
103 
105 



Topographic 
position. 



Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 



Slope 

..-.do 

....do 

.---do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Hilltop 

Base of hill.. 

Slope 

Knoll 

Slope 

Swale 

Slope 

do 

....do 

....do 

do 

Swale 

Lowland 

Slope 

....do 

Swale 

Base of hill.. 
Lowland — 
Base of hill. . 

Lowland 

Slope 

....do 

....do 

do 

Base of Slope 

Swale 

....do 

Knoll 

Ridge 

Slope 



Feet. 
260 
310 
160 
290 
340 
350 
350 
390 
270 
390 
400 
260 
230 
170 
180 
260 
370 
380 
300 
250 
270 
290 
270 

290 

90 

70 

70 

90 

130 

250 

230 

300 

310 

380 

260 

345 



Total 
depth. 



Feet. 
32 
21 
33 
44 
12 
25 



Depth 
to 

water 
May, 
1915. 



Feet. 
22 
19 
20 
36 
4 

17 
27 
£0 



Method of lift. 



Wheel and bucket 

do 

Windlass 



Windlass . 

do 

Chain pump 

do 

Airlift 

Rope and bucket - 



Windlass 

Pitcher pump. 



Rope and bucket. 

Windlass 

Chain pump 

do 



Windlass . 



Chain pump 

Wheel and bucket 

Force pump 

Wheel and bucket 

Chain pump 

Rope and bucket. 

Windlass 

Pitcher pump 

Windlass 

Wheel and bucket 

Pitcher pump 

Wheel and bucket 
do 



.do. 



Remarks. 



100 yards south of gravel pit. 
Dry in summer. 

Unused. ' 
Do. 

Gets low but not dry. 

Never dry; sandstone penetrated. 

Dry in summer. 

Gets low but not dry. 

Good supply. 

Unused. 

Nearly dry in summer. 

Unused. 

Unused; dry in summer. 
Stable supply. 
Dry in summer. 
"Do. 

Unused. 

Used as milk cooler; domestic supply 

from well No. 80. 
Dry in summer. 
Never dry. 



Dry in summer. 



Do. 

Temperature 45° F. Never dry dur- 
ing 65 years. 

Temperature 50° F. Mostly in sand- 
stone. 



Drilled toells in Meriden. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic 
position. 


Eleva- 
tion 
above 
sea 
level. 


Total 
depth. 


Depth 
to 

water 
May, 
1915. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Kind of rock. 


Yield. 


Remarks. 


3 




Feet. 
210 
210 

170 

190 

190 
200 
220 
230 
360 
150 


Feet. 
50+ 

75 

42 
72 

69 

72 

83 
125 
224 
300 

70 
80 


Feet. 
15 
20 

8 

15 

40 
30 
43 
40 
45 
10 

25 

22 


Feet. 
1 
1 




Gallons 
per 

minute. 




7 


do 

Lowland 

Knoll 


do 




Mr. Litscher, owner. (See 

analysis, p. 52.) 
Dug 20 feet, drilled 22 feet; 


8 


do 




12 


1 
1 


do 




dry every summer until 
drilled. 
Drilled about 1895; flowed at 


13 


do 

Slope 

do 

Knoll 


do 




first. 


14 


do... 






15 




...do... 






16 


1 

50 


do 






20 




do 




Pump 300 gallons daily. 


24 


Lowland 


do 




J. D. Bergen Co.; drilled 


28 




do 




about 1900; too hard for 
boiler use; used for sprin- 
kling, etc. 
Dug 30 feet; drilled 40 feet. 


31 


Swale...- 310 




do 




Dug 23 feet; drilled 52 feet. 



mki;m>kx. 
Drilled /cells in Meriden Continued. 



51 



U ip 

No. 


Topog 

poal ton. 


Eleva- 
tion 

abo e 
sea 

level. 


Total 

depth. 


Depth 

to 
water 
May, 
1915. 


to 

rock. 


Kind of rock. 


i'ield. 


i irk -. 


34 


Slope 


Fett. 

3.50 
3 1.5 
260 
1 25 

130 

170 

280 
250 
260 

390 
370 
330 

305 
300 
300 
80 
245 
290 
330 

320 
350 


Feet. 

79 
100+ 
150 
562 

152 

250-350 

120 

205 

1,000 

200 
220 

48 

60 

76 
128 

90 

93 

75 
102 

50 

70 


Feet. 

30 
30 
50 

10± 

7 

25 

54 
70 

30 
30 

20 

30 
30 
15 
20 
40 
27 
20 

22 
15 


Feet. 

2.5 
5 




per 
minute. 


Dug 35 I et; drill d 1 1 feet. 


37 
38 


do 

do 

Lowland 

do 

Slope 


d" 

do... 






40 


lOOdl 

31 
6-10 


do... 






41 
43 


do 

do 




hard fir boiler use; stained 
silverware; formerly used 
for, sprinkling, etc.; aban- 
doned. 

Thos. P. Lyons Bottling 
Works; water struck at .50 
feet; rose to 7 feet. (Sec 
analysis, p. 52.) 

Edward Miller Co., drilled 


46 


do 

do 

do 

Hilltop 

Ridge 


do 




1895; 5 wells 250-350 feet 
deep. Factory supply. 
Dug 32 feet; drilled n, f et. 


49 




do 




Dug 15 foet, drilled 190 feet. 


52 




do... 






5S 




do... 




1905; too hard for boiler 
use; air lift. Factory use. 
(See analysis, p. 52.) 


73 


20 
12 

40 
43 


do 

do 


12 




74 


Slope 

Saddle 

Slope 

do 

Lowland 

Slope 

do 

do 

Base of hill 

Ridge 




75 
76 
80 


do 

do 

do 


4 
6 


to 20 feet. 


90 




do... 






94 




do... 






96 




do 






100 




do 






101 




do 




at 92 feet. 


104 




do 

















Springs in Meriden. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic 
position. 


Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 


Tem- 
pera- 
ture. 


Yield. 


Bedrock. 


Remarks. 


1 


Slope 


Feet. 
180 
180 

250 

190 

130 
290 

250 

220 
85 

100 
80 

120 

290 


°F. 

49 

47 

45 
49 
49 


Gallons 

per 
minute. 

5 

1 

4 

5 

f> 
5± 

13 

1± 

2 

5 

5 

3± 

3± 


Sandstone 

Trap 




4 


Base of hill 


Domestic supply of several adjacent 

houses. 
Redrock Spring; hoi tied and sold locally; 

also dairy supply; flow noticeably less 

in dry summers. 
Hillside Spring; bottled and sold locally 

(See analysis, p. 52.) 
Unused . 
Supplies fire-protection tank of Edward 

Miller Co. 
Live Oak Spring; bottled and sold lo- 
cally. 
Live Elm rein:. 
Watering trough at roadside. 
Supplies a pond. 
Domestic water supply. 
Domestic supply for several houses. 
Domestic supply, raised by hydraulic 

ram. 


33 


Sandstone 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 


39 

50 
.5-1 

68 

69 
83 
86 


do 

Base of hill 

do 

do 

do 

do 

Swale 


87 
89 


Base of hill 

Slope 


99 


do 



52 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

ANALYSES OF GROUND WATER. 

The following table contains four analyses of ground waters in the 
town of Meriden, of which three are from drilled wells and one is 
from a spring. The analyses are discussed on pages 19-21. 

Chemical composition and classification of water from, Meriden. 
[Parts per million. Samples collected May, 1915; S. C. Dinsmore, analyst.] 



Drilled wells. 



7a 



Hillside 
Spring. 



Silica (Si0 2 ) 

Iron(Fe) 

Calcium (Ca) 

Magnesium (Mg) 

Sodium and potassium (Na+K)b. . . 

Carbonate radicle (C0 3 ) 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 

Sulphate radicle (SO4) 

Chloride radicle (CI) , 

Nitrate radicle (N 3 ) 

Total dissolved solids at 180° C 

Total hardness as CaCOs b 

Probable scale-forming ingredients b 

Probability of corrosion b c 

Quality for boiler use 

Chemical character 



17 
Trace. 
28 
7.4 
0.0 
0.0 
92 
10 
5.0 
3.0 
128 
100 
110 

(?) 

Fair. 

Ca-C0 3 



27 
Trace. 
50 
9.6 
13 
0.0 
134 
46 
16 
15 
235 
164 
190 

(?) 

Fair. 

Ca-C0 3 



25 

Trace. 

69 

6.3 

24 

0.0 

129 

77 

23 

40 

339 

198 

240 

(?) 

Poor. 

Ca-CO s 



27 
Trace. 
29 
4.1 
3.0 
0.0 
92 
5.3 
7.0 
6.0 
120 
89 
120 
(?) 
Fair. 
Ca-C0 3 



a Numbers at heads of columns correspond to those on map ( PI. II, in pocket ) and in table (pp . 50-51 > 
b Computed. * 

c(?)=corrosion doubtful. 

MIDDLEFIELD. 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The town of Middlefield, which occupies the south-central part of 
the area under discussion, was settled about 1700 by three families, 
who took up their homes respectively in the lowland in the southern 
portion, in the highland in the north, and near the center of the town. 

The principal village is at Rock Fall, which had a population of 
about 250 in 1915. Middlefield Center and Baileyville are communi- 
ties of about 100 people each. The remainder of the population re- 
sides mainly near Coe Hill, in the northern part of the town, and 
near Middlefield railroad station, in the southern part. 

The area of the town is about 8,600 acres, according to planimeter 
measurement on 'the Middletown and Guilford topographic maps. 1 
About 2,700 acres in the town, or nearly one-third of the total area, 
is wooded. The woodlands are very largely contained in one body 
covering uplands in the western part of the town, however, and only 
four or five areas of more than a few acres each are situated in the 
eastern two-thirds of the town. A large area of marsh occupies the 
south-central portion of the town, along the vallejr of Coginchaug 

1 The area is given as 8,406 acres on p. 432 of the Connecticut State Register and 
Manual for 1915, which probably is exclusive of the water surface. 



MII'DLEFIELD. 



53 



River, and together with a smaller area in the northeast makes a 
total of fully 400 acres of marsh land. 

Highy Mountain reservoir of the Middletown city water supply is 
in the northern part of the town, and Laurel Brook reservoir, of the 
same system, lies mainly within the eastern border. Black Pond 
(PI. V, B) on the west border, Beseck Lake in the west-central 
portion, and a power pond in the east make, together with the two 
reservoirs, a total water surface nearly equal to that of the marsh 
land. 

POPULATION AND INDUSTRIES. 

In 1744, when Middlefield community was organized as a parish, 
it contained about 50 families, or possibly 350 people. At this time 
the community was given its present name, signifying that it was a 
rural portion of Middletown. By 1815 the population had increased 
only to about 450, but in 1866, when the parish was incorporated as a 
separate town, its population was more than double this number. 















1,053 




1,002 




"Sso 

i 




— — — 


— 








926 




8« 



1815 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 

Figure 8. — Curve of population of the town of Middlefield, Conn. 

Since the incorporation of the town its population has fluctuated 
somewhat with the activity of factories within its borders, but it has 
not risen above the figure of the first census after the town was 
formed. The diagram (fig. 8) shows the fluctuation in population, 
so far as it is given by the records of the census, taken at 10-year 
intervals. 

The available water power was early utilized by gristmills and 
other mills, and the manufacture of various small articles was 
early undertaken. At present factories near Rock Fall and Bailey- 
ville produce cording, suspender webbing, and cotton cloth. Other 
industries in these settlements are the manufacture of gun sights, 
pistols, and novelties made of ivory and bone. 

The greater part of the town is devoted to agriculture. Hay and 
other field crops are raised on the lower lands, and orchard fruits, 
especially peaches, are extensively grown in the higher areas. A 
number of dairy 'farms have also been established within recent 
years. 

The town is crossed by the Air Line division of the New York, 
New Haven & Hartford Railroad, which gives direct outlet south- 



54 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

ward to New Haven and northeastward to Middletown. A trolley 
line extends from Middletown to Middlefield Center, and the main 
thoroughfares are surfaced and afford a good means of communica- 
tion with the neighboring settlements. 

GEOLOGY. 

The town of Middlefield is not traversed by any extensive faults, 
and the bedrock structure is therefore simple. The series of Triassic 
sandstones and interbedded trap sheets dips gently eastward, as is 
shown in the middle portion, of structure section G-H on Plate III 
(in pocket). 

In the northwest corner of the town the " Anterior " or lower trap 
sheet is well exposed,, both in the bed of the brook between East 
Meriden and Highland and in a very low ridge at the west side of 
the road. (See PL II.) This trap sheet is apparently broken and 
offset by a small fault in the extreme corner of the town, for it is 
there replaced by the overhang " Anterior " sandstone, as shown on 
Plate III. This sandstone forms the uppermost rock along most of 
the western border of the town, at the base of Higby and Beseck 
mountains. This, northward-trending mountain ridge is formed by 
the " Main " trap sheet, but this trap dips eastward beneath the 
" Posterior " sandstone, which forms the uppermost rock through 
the central part of the town. Eastward this sandstone is succeeded 
in turn by a band of trap rock of the " Posterior " or upper sheet, 
which is overlain in the southeastern part of the town by the upper 
sandstone. 

East of the valley of Coginchaug River the upper trap sheet is so 
far below the surface that it probably would be penetrated only 
by wells more than 1,000 feet deep. The liability of striking trap 
rock, which is tough and hard to drill, in wells sunk in the region 
east of Coginchaug River is therefore remote. The " Posterior " trap 
sheet, however, immediately underlies portions of Middlefield Center 
and Rock Fall and the intervening lands, as well as less thickly settled 
lands to the north and to the south. Wells that are drilled within 
this area, which is shown on Plate III as underlain by the " Pos- 
terior " trap, will therefore reach the trap immediately beneath the 
glacial deposits. This trap sheet is 100 to 150 feet thick, but it is 
probable that by drilling through it into the " Posterior " sandstone, 
fairly large supplies of water can be developed. The lands under- 
lain by the " Posterior " trap are for the most part lower than the 
area of " Posterior " sandstone to the west. It seems possible, there- 
fore, that artesian flows can be obtained from this sandstone beneath 
the confining layer of trap rock at some places in the trap area. 

Except along its western border the area of " Posterior " sand- 
stone west of the " Posterior " trap sheet is underlain at depths of 



MIDDLEFIELD. 55 

500 to more than 1,000 feat by the "Main" trap sheet. 'Flu-re is 
therefore little liability (hat (rap will be encountered in wells drilled 
near Coe Hill and near the outlet of Beseck Lake. 

Stratified glacial drift fills (he valley of Coginchaug River and the 
adjacent lower lands, but the greater part of the town is eovered 
by deposits of till. Over the slopes in the southeast the material 
seems to be fairly thick, and throughout the central portion it 
forms several drumliu hills. Over Hig'by and Beseck mountains 
the till is thin, however, and the trap rock is exposed on their east- 
ern slopes, probably at man} 7 points in addition to those indicated on 
Plate II, as well as in the cliffs that form the western fronts of these 
ridges. 

SURFACE FEATURES. 

Middlefield is divided topographically into three fairly distinct 
belts that trend northward. Along the western side Higby and 
Beseck mountains constitute a prominent ridge whose crest attains 
an elevation of about 925 feet on the northwest border of the town. 
Westward the ridge drops abruptly to rolling land along the edge 
of the town. Eastward the slope is less abrupt, though steep, to a 
narrow lowland in part occupied by Beseck Lake and Higby Moun- 
tain reservoir. East of this lowland a series of narrow, elongated 
hills constitutes an area that slopes in the main eastward to the val- 
ley of Coginchaug River. The lowest point in the town, where this 
river crosses the northeastern boundary, lies at an elevation of about 
80 feet. 

The eastern portion of the town constitutes a gently rolling surface 
that rises less than 200 feet above the river. 

STREAMS. 

Coginchaug River drains practically all the town except about 2 
square miles in the northwestern part, which is tributary to Higby 
Mountain reservoir. The Coginchaug has its headwaters in Dur- 
ham and Guilford towns, several miles south of the Middlefield 
boundary. For fully half its course through Middlefield it is a 
sluggish stream, flowing through marsh land half a mile wide. The 
open valley ends near Middlefield Center, however, and thence 
eastward the stream has a steeper gradient. The drainage of the 
west and southwest portions of the town is received by Beseck Lake, 
which discharges directly eastward to the Coginchaug. In the 
southeast a portion of the drainage is received by Laurel Brook 
reservoir. This reservoir overflows northward through Laurel Brook, 
which joins the Coginchaug half a mile below the Middlefield 
town line. The drainage basin of Coginchaug River above the north- 
east border of Middlefield comprises about' 33 square miles. The 



56 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

basin is situated similarly to that of Quinnipiac River and it lias 
similar climatic conditions. It seems probable, therefore, that the unit 
run-off from the two basins is approximately the same. On this as- 
sumption the discharge of the Coginchaug would appear, by compari- 
son of its drainage area with that of the Quinnipiac and its discharge 
curve with that of the Quinnipiac (fig. 7, p. 45), to be about 150 
second-feet during the spring high water and 16 or 18 second-feet 
during the summer low-water flow. The daily flow of the Cogin- 
chaug and its various tributaries is greatly influenced by mill ponds, 
however. 

A gristmill, built near Rock Fall in the eighteenth century, was 
replaced about 1800 by a sawmill, and below this a fulling mill was 
constructed shortly afterward. A snuff mill, a powder mill, and 
other small factories were early established near Rock Fall and near 
Bailey ville. A cotton factory, constructed near the same place in 
1847, was burned in 1874 and was replaced by a larger structure. 

A storage dam was built about 1848 at the outlet of Beseck Lake 
by those interested in manufacturing along the lower Coginchaug, 
and the dam was in later years increased in height. The original 
pond has thus been greatly increased in size and still furnishes an 
important supply of water for power development during the lowest 
stages of Coginchaug River. The drainage area tributary to the 
lake is about 1,400 acres, of which the lake covers about 35 acres. 

GROUND- WATER SUPPLIES. 

Water in stratified drift. — So far as was learned by the writer, 
all the residents in Middlefield obtain their water supplies from in- 
dividual wells or springs. 

In Middlefield only the lowland along the valley of Coginchaug 
River is covered by stratified drift, and as the larger part of this 
area is marsh land, few wells have been sunk in it. In the six wells 
ending in stratified drift that were examined by the writer in May, 
1915, the average depth to water was 12 feet, the extreme depths 
being 7 and 21 feet. • (See fig. 3, p. 16). The deepest well is said 
to fail in summer, but the others } T ield perennial supplies. An 
analysis of water from one of the shallowest drift wells (No. 11), 
given in the table on page 59, shows this water to be comparatively 
low in total mineral content, calcium and bicarbonate being the chief 
constituents. 

The most promising part of the town for the development of 
large quantities of ground water is probably in the marshy valley 
of Coginchaug River, for sandy layers that would yield good sup- 
plies to shallow drilled wells, properly screened, probably are 
present beneath the surficial layers of soil and silt. 



MIDDLEFIELD. 57 

Water in till. — The greater part of Middlefield is covered with 
glacial till, and most of the domestic water supplies are obtained 
from wells dug in these unstratified deposits. The average depth 
to water, in May, 1915, in the 27 wells in till that were measured, 
was ! \;.\ feet. (See fig. 3, p. 10.) The average depth to water in 
wells in till on hillsides and in lowlands was only slightly greater 
than the average depth in the six wells in drift that were observed, 
but in several wells in till on the tops of hills and knolls the average 
depth to water was nearly 21 feet. 

The analyses of water from two wells in till (Nos. 6 and 26, p. 59) 
show larger mineral contents than the water from the well in strati- 
fied drift (No. 11), and it is probably true that the waters in the 
till as a rule contain more mineral matter than the waters in the 
stratified drift. This condition is indicated by the average mineral 
contents in all the waters of wells in till and drift that were 
analyzed. (See table of analyses, p. 59.) The water of well 6 con- 
tains rather large amounts of chloride and nitrate, and it is possible 
that a portion of these substances is due to contamination by the 
wastes from the adjacent house. Well 26 is dug beside a house 
and is situated so that it may receive polluted water both from the 
kitchen and from the adjacent barnyard. Serious contamination 
of this sort appears to be shown by the large amounts of chloride 
and nitrate that were found in the water. This water also is 
noticeably hard, as it contains relatively large amounts of calcium 
and bicarbonate. 

Water hi sandstone and trap. — Five drilled wells were noted in 
the town in localities where the glacial till is too thin to furnish a 
reliable water supply. Two of these wells penetrate the " Pos- 
terior " trap sheet, their total depths being 60 and 106 feet, and they 
obtain supplies of soft water sufficient for domestic needs. The 
other three wells are drilled in sandstone, to total depths of 65, 125, 
and 150 feet. These wells also } T ield sufficient water for domestic 
use, though the capacity of each is probably less than 5 gallons a 
minute. 

Springs. — Three springs (Nos. 4, 15, and 16) were noted in the 
town. All have slight flow, however, and are little used. Other 
small springs probably issue on the higher slopes of Beseck and 
Kigby mountains, but no springs were reported to be used for 
domestic supply. 

RECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 

The following lists contain data concerning certain wells and 
springs whose locations are indicated on Plate II. They are be- 
lieved to be representative of the ground- water conditions through- 
out the town. 



58 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

Dug wells in Middlefield. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic 
position. 


Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 


Total 
depth. 


Depth 
to 

water 
May, 
1915. 


Method of lift. 


Remarks. 


i 


Ridge 


Feet. 
450 
380 
330 
230 
370 

320 

* 330 

150 

150 
380 
350 
190 
220 
250 
250 
250 
190 
380 
360 

330 
370 
230 
320 
370 
280 
150 
175 
170 
125 
170 
110 
200 
350 


Feet. 
22 
16 
26 
22 
14 

23 
30 
28 

13 
32 
41 
25 
13 
26 
26 
24 
16 
29 
39 

28 
39 
18 
27 
23 
8 
21 
30 
22 
13 
18 
21 
18 
32 


Feet. 
12 
7 
22 
12 
11 

13 
10 

7 

9 
15 
12 
21 

5 
24 
20 
17 
12 
22 
23 

15 
28 
12 
11 
12 

2 

16 
14 
12 

8 
15 
16 

7 
16 


Wheel and bucket. 

Chain pump 

do 


Dry in summer. 
Do 


2 




3 




Do. 


5 


Knoll 






6 


Base of hill 


do 


Never dry: sandstone encountered. 
W. H. Holmes, owner. (See anal- 
ysis, p. 59.) 

Dry in summer. 


7 


do 


8 




do 


11 


....do 


Wheel and bucket. 
do 


Never dry. Emma L. Beebe, owner. 
(See analysis, p. 59.) 


12 


Base of knoll.. 


13 


Hand pump 


Do. 


14 


do 


Do. 


17 


do 


do 


Dry in summer? ' 


19 




do 


20 
21 


Saddle 


Wheel and bucket. 

Windlass 

do 


Do. 


22 


do 




23 


Swale 


do 




25 
26 


Base of knoll.. 
Hill 


Wheel and bucket. 
do 


Dry in summer. 

Never dry; hard water. Fred An- 
drews, owner. (See analysis, p. 59.) 


27 
28 


Base of hill 

Ridge 


Chain pump 

Windlass... 


29 


Base of hill 


do 




30 




Unused; dry in summer. 
Never dry. 


32 


. .do 




33 


...do 




34 
35 


Lowland 


Pitcher pump 


60 feet from brook and 2J feet above it. 
Never dry. 
Dry in summer. 


36 


Flat 


do 


37 




....do 


38 


do 






39 


do 


Wheel and bucket. 

Hand pump 

Wheel and bucket. 


Gets low but never dry. 
Never dry. 


40 


do 


41 


Hilltop 



Drilled ivells in Middlefield. 



Map 
No. 



Topographic 
position. 



Slope. 

do 

do 

Ridge. 
Slope. . 



Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 



Feet. 
250 
190 
250 
385 
320 



Total 
depth. 



Feet. 
106 
60 
125 
150 
65 



Depth 
to 

water 
May, 
1915. 



Feet. 
60 
30 
15 
25 
12 



Depth 

to 
rock. 



Feet. 



Kind of rock. 



Trap 

do 

Sandstone. 

do 

do 



Yield. 



Gallons 
per 'min- 
ute. 



Remarks. 



Soft water. 
Good supply. 



Springs in Middlefield. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic posi- 
tion. 


Elevation 

above sea 

level. 


Temper- 
ature. 


Yield. 


Bedrock. 


Remarks. 


4 




Feet. 
400 
270 
290 


"F. 
50 


Gallons 
per min- 
ute, 
i 
1 

2 


Sandstone 


Roadside drinking. 


15 


do 


Trap 


Unimproved. 


16 


do 


do 


Do. 











MIDDLETOWN. 



59 



AN.\l,YS!''s OF i;i:m ND WATER. 

The following table contains three analyses of ground water in the 
town of MululolioM. The analyses are discussed on pages H)-21. 

Chemical composition ami classification* of tenter from dun irciix in Middle, field. 

[Parts per million. Samples collected May, 1015; S. C. Dinsmoro, analyst. 




Wells ending in 

till. 



Silica (SiOj) 

Iron ( Fe) 

Calciiun (.Ca) 

Magnesium (Mg) 

Sodium and potassium (Na+K)&. . . 

Carbonate radicle (CO3) 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 

Sulphate radicle (SO*) 

Chloride radicle (CI) 

Nitrate radicle (NO3) 

Total dissolved solids at 180° C 

Total hardness as CaCOsfc 

Probable scale-forming ingredients b 

Probability of corrosion b c 

Quality for boiler use 

Chemical character 



18 
Trace. 
20 
5.6 
.0 
.0 
48 
10 
7.0 
12 
101 
73 
86 
(?) 
Good. 
Ca-C0 3 



26 
Trace. 
25 



63 
34 
18 
28 

192 
99 

111) 

(?) 

Fair. 

Ca-C0 3 



19 

Trace. 

118 

37 

51 



.0 



49 

102 

352 

769 

447 

430 

C 

Poor. 

Ca-N0 3 



a Numbers at heads of columns correspond to those on map (PI. II, in pocket) and in table (p. 58.) 

b Computed. 

c C= Corrosive; (?)=corrosion doubtful. 

MIDDLETOWN. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Middletown occupies the central and southeastern portions of the 
area treated in this report. 

The first white settlers established their homes in 1650 in or near 
the area at present occupied by the city of Middletown, which stands 
on the site of an Indian village, Mattabesset or Mattabesec, on slopes 
overlooking Connecticut River. The name Mattabesset is the cor- 
ruption of a phrase signifying " at the mouth of a large brook." The 
community was organized in the year following its settlement and 
was known as Mattabesset until 1653, when the present name was 
adopted, from the position of the settlement midway between the 
upper river towns and Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut. 

Since the first settlement the population has been concentrated in 
the city of Middletown, but small communities have also been built 
up at Westfield, Newfield, and Highland, in the western part of the 
town, and in the vicinity of Maromas railroad station, in the eastern 
part. 

The town originally included the area that now comprises Chat- 
ham and Portland, east of Connecticut River, and also Cromwell, 



60 GROUND WATEE IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

Middlefield, and a portion of Berlin. The present area of the town, 
considering the center of Connecticut Eiver as its eastern boundary, 
is about 28,700 acres, according' to planimeter measurement on the 
Middletown, Guilford, and Meriden topographic maps. 1 A relatively 
large part of the town — 35| per cent — is wooded, the main wooded 
area being in the southeast, as shown on Plate IV (in pocket) . As 
in other parts of the State, practically all the trees of the original 
forest have been cut, and the woods now consist almost entirely of 
small trees of later growth. About 570 acres, or 2 per cent of the 
area, may be classed as marshy. This area consists largely of land 
adjacent to Mattabesset River, along the northeast border of the 
town ; but there are also marshy areas of considerable extent near the 
southern border of the city and in the southern and southeastern por- 
tions of the town. The western half of Connecticut River, which is 
included within the town, constitutes its greatest water body and 
covers about 650 acres. Several ponds and reservoirs cover a total 
area less than one-third as great, or only about 200 acres. 

POPULATION AND INDUSTRIES. 

In 1673 the entire town of Middletown contained only 52 families, 
and for the next few decades the growth in population was slow. 
An actual decrease took place in some years, for the country is 
rough, markets are distant, and the heavily timbered farm lands 
offered little inducement to immigration. During the half century 
preceding the American Revolution, however, the town increased 
notably in population and in prosperity, owing chiefly to the develop- 
ment of trade with the West Indies, where cotton cloth and other 
finished products were exchanged for rum, molasses, and tropical 
goods. 

The development of industries and the location of institutions 
near the original settlement have caused the population of the town 
to remain concentrated near this place. The city was incorporated 
in 1784 and, as is shown in figure 9, more than half the total popu- 
lation of the town is within the corporate limits. A considerably 
greater percentage of the total population than is indicated by the 
diagrams is located within 2 miles of the city hall, for there are 
built-up districts to the south and southeast, beyond the city limits. 

At the time of the Revolution the city of Middletown had become 
an important shipbuilding and commercial center, and manufactur- 
ing was also becoming important. The first steam-driven factory in 
the State was built in 1812 by the Middletown Woolen Manufactur- 
ing Co. 2 The industrial activity of the city continued to increase 

iThe area is given at 27,287 acres on p. 43S of the Connecticut State Register and 
Manual for 1915. 

2 Encyclopaedia Britannica, lltlx ed., subject Connecticut, 



MIDDLETOWN. 



61 



until, in the middle of 

the nineteenth cen- 
tury, it was one of the 
principal cities in the 
State. The develop- 
ment of the rival cities 
of Xew Haven, Hart- 
ford, and Bridgeport 
into railroad centers, 
as well as seaports, 
gave them a great ad- 
vantage over Middle- 
town, and beginning 
about 1850 this city 
declined in commercial 
activity for several 
decades. Within re- 
cent years, however, 
Middlet'ownhas shown 
renewed activity as a 
manufacturing center. 
The principal indus- 
tries at present in- 
clude the manufacture 
of pumps and other 
hydraulic machinery, 
hardware, automo- 
biles, typewriters, cut- 
lery, and other small 
articles, and wooden, 
cotton, rubber, silk, 
and web goods. Agri- 
culture and dairying 
are carried on 
throughout the lower 
lands of the town. 
Brickmaldng is an ex- 
tensive industry at 
Xewfield and near 
TTestfield, and feld- 
spar and building 
stone have been pro- 
duced in great amounts 
from pegmatite and 
granite gneiss in the 









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b2 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

eastern portion of t,he town. An " old silver-leacl mine " near 
Connecticut Eiver, 2 miles east of the city of Middletown, is re- 
ported to have produced some lead during the Revolutionary War, 
but the workings have long been abandoned. No reports of 
other prospects of metallic minerals in the town have been obtained 
by the writer. 

In addition to being an industrial city, Middletown is the seat of 
Wesleyan University, founded in 1831, and of Berkeley Divinity 
School, founded in 1849. The State Industrial Home for Girls is a 
short distance south of the city limits, and the State Hospital for the 
Insane is at South Farms, east of the corporate limits. 

. GEOLOGY. 

In its geologic structure Middletown presents three well-defined 
zones — an area of complex structure in the west or northwest, a 
central area immediately underlain by the upper sandstone, and an 
area of ancient crystalline rocks in the east and southeast. 

The northwestern part of the town is traversed by a great fault',, 
along which, according to Davis, 1 the rocks have been vertically dis- 
placed not less than 1,300' feet, the rocks east of the fault zone being 
uplifted with respect to those west of it. In addition to the vertical 
displacement, the rocks on the east side of the fault have been shoved 
northeastward with respect to those on the west, and minor faulting 
has complicated the structure west of the main fault zone. The 
present surficial positions of the several beds of trap rock and sand- 
stones, as worked out by Davis, 2 are shown on Plate III (in pocket). 

The "Anterior " trap sheet is the uppermost rock in Middletown in 
only a narrow area that extends southward from a point near High- 
land. The "Main " trap sheet forms both Lamentation and Higby 
mountains. The parallel trends of these two mountains and their 
offsetting well illustrate the results of the northeast-southwest move- 
ment along the great fault zone that passes between them. 

The " Posterior " trap sheet, as a result of minor faulting in addi- 
tion to the major displacement, appears as the surficial rock in two 
narrow bands that extend northward from Highland and in a wider 
belt west of Westfield station. East of Westfield station the 
" Posterior " trap is again exposed, and it forms the bedrock in a 
gradually widening zone that extends southward. 

No faults of consequence in Middletown are known east of the 
major one, so that from the southwestern corner of the town the 
entire series of Triassic rocks, from the lower to the upper sand- 

1 Davis, W. M., The Triassic formation of Connecticut : U. So Geol. Survey Eighteenth 
Ann. Rept., pt. 2, p. 96, 1898. 

2 Idem, pi. 20. 






M3DDLET0WK. G3 

stones, appear in sucoessive north south bands, as one proceeds ea i- 
ward from the west edge of the (own. This succession of beds is 
shown in the middle portion of structure section E-F, Plate III. 

The centra] portion of the town is underlain by the upper .-anti- 
stone, beneath which the three trap sheets presumably have their 
usual relative positions. Tn the vicinity of Staddle Hill the upper 
surface of the "Posterior" trap sheet is probably about 500 feet be- 
low the surface, and at other points nearer the eastern border of the 
zone of "Posterior" trap, this rock is of course nearer to the 
surface. 

The Triassic rocks dip eastward at an angle that decreases from 
about 15° to about 10° from the horizontal. This eastward dip prob- 
ably carries the " Posterior" trap sheet to a depth of 1,500 feet or 
more below the city of Middletown, provided this upper trap sheet, 
the thinnest of the three trap sheets, persists as far eastward as the 
city. 

The central area of upper sandstone is bounded on the east by the 
great fault zone that forms the eastern border of the central lowland 
of the State. The ancient crystalline rocks east of the fault have 
been uplifted with respect to the Triassic rocks. Xo definite contact 
of recks of the two classes has been found at any point along the 
fault zone in Middletown, but the existence of faulting is shown by 
the presence of crushed, laminated phases of the sandstone in the 
transition zone from unaltered sandstone to the granite gneiss and 
pegmatites. 

The belt of lowland nearly a mile wide that extends from the city 
of Middletown nearly to Mattabesset River is covered by stratified 
drift. Narrower areas of drift also extend up the valleys of Sawmill 
and West Swamp brooks, and the lowlands along Coginchaug River 
and along the main branches of Sumner Brook likewise contain de- 
posits of stratified drift. In the lands along the lower portion of 
Mattabesset River this drift seems, from the records of wells, to be 
in some places more than 50 feet in thickness. It contains extensive 
beds of clay that have long been used for brickmaking. Over parts 
of the lowland the drift is very thin, however, and the underlying 
bedrock of sandstone or of trap crops out at a number of places, as 
is indicated on Plate II (in pocket). 

The greater part of the town is overlain by deposits of till, though 
on the higher lands the till is only a few feet thick and the under- 
lying rocks are exposed in many spots. In Lamentation and Higby 
mountains the lava rock of the main trap sheet that forms these ridges 
is well exposed in their cliffs. On their eastern slopes the trap is 
also exposed over considerable areas beneath the very thin covering 
of till. On these slopes the trap is doubtless exposed in many places 
a few yards in extent that can not well be shown on a map of the 



64 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

scale of Plate II. Over the highland area in the southeast the till is 
also in the main very thin, and ledges of the granite bedrock and 
numerous prominent dikes of pegmatite are exposed in many places. 
There are, accordingly, doubtless many exposures of the bedrock in 
addition to those indicated on Plate II. 

SURFACE FEATURES. 

Middletown has an irregular shape, being bounded on the north 
and east by streams — the Mattabesset and the Connecticut — and hav- 
ing a large reentrant in the southwest, caused by the incorporation 
of its former parish of Middlefield as a separate town. 

The southeastern portion of the town is occupied by a rugged, 
hilly area that forms part of the eastern highland of the State. 
Within the town Bear Hill and Chestnut Mountain are the highest 
points of this highland, but their respective elevations are only 650 
and 620 feet. Near its western border the town includes portions 
of Lamentation and Higby mountains, the highest point in the town 
being on the crest of Higby Mountain, at an elevation of about 925 
feet. Between the two high areas in the east and in the west the 
surface is, rolling or hilly, and the drainage is developed along nar- 
row northward-trending valleys. 

There is a wide area of lowland in the northern portion of the 
town, in the vicinity of Mattabesset River and along its tributary, 
Sawmill Brook. Near the city of Middletown there are also lowlands 
to the west along Coginchaug River and to the southeast along the 
main branches of Sumner Brook. East of the city, along the Con- 
necticut, the slopes come down rather abruptly to the river, but there' 
is a narrow lowland extending westward from Maromas railroad 
station and a meadow a quarter of a mile wide at the mouth of Hub- 
bard Brook. 

STREAMS. 

Connecticut River, the master stream of the region, borders the 
eastern side of Middletown for 9 miles. In this portion of its course 
the stream has a width of one-eighth to three-eighths of a mile and a 
depth of channel sufficient for small seagoing vessels. The limit to 
the draft of ships that traverse the river is chiefly determined by a 
bar at its mouth, 30 miles below Middletown city. The influence of 
the tide is felt in the river for a number of miles above Middletown. 

The drainage from the different parts of Middletown flows in 
fairly direct lines to the Connecticut. Mattabesset River, which 
forms the northern border of the town, receives several northward- 
flowing brooks that drain the northern and western lands. Sawmill 
Brook, the principal one, heads near the western boundary of the 
town. Early in May, 1915, it was carrying nearly 2 second-feet 



MIDDLETOWN. 65 

of water in its lower course, but its normal summer flow probably is 
less than half that amount. A considerable part of its How also sinks 
in the lowland near Mattabesset River before uniting with that 
stream. 

The flow of Fall Brook, which joins Sawmill Brook near Westfield, 
is in large part stored in Higby Mountain reservoir. At the falls of 
the brook, where it cascades across the main trap sheet near West- 
field, it had, in May, 1915, a flow of about 0.5 second-foot, but nearly 
all this water was absorbed by the gravel of the lowland in the half 
mile between the falls and Sawmill Brook. 

The slopes between Westfield and Newfield are drained by West 
Swamp Brook, which joins the Mattabesset a mile below Westfield 
station, and by a brook that enters the main stream one-quarter of a 
mile above the station. Neither of these streams normally carries 
more than 0.2 or 0.3 second-foot of water. 

Coginchaug Kiver, which flows from the southwest through Mid- 
dlelield, is ponded both in Middletown and in Middlefield, and its 
daily flow is greatly affected by the storage or release of water at the 
mill ponds. On May 5, 1915, the discharge of the Coginchaug 1 
mile above its junction with the Mattabesset was 52 second-feet, but 
its average flow during the six months of low water has been given 
as about 18 second-feet. 1 

The Coginchaug unites with the Mattabesset in the marsh lands 
half a mile from Connecticut River. The current of the Mattabesset 
apparently is so checked by its entrance into the larger, more slug- 
gish stream that it deposits a considerable portion of the sediment 
carried during freshets. Willow Island seems to have been thus 
built up in the Connecticut opposite the mouth of the Mattabesset. 

Sumner Brook drains the southern portion of Middletown 
and enters Connecticut River at the eastern border of the city. 
Its western branch, sometimes called Pameaqhea Brook, drains only 
slopes that are within the town, but the eastern branch, early known 
as Sanseer Brook, rises on the border between Durham and Haddam, 
2 miles south of the Middletown boundary. Measurements of the 
west and east branches short distances above their junction three- 
quarters of a mile from the Connecticut, on May 5. 1915, showed 
discharges respectively of 20 and 7 second-feet. Both streams are 
used for power at storage dams short distances above their junction, 
and these measurements may represent the approximate amounts 
of water that are normally used during factor} 7 hours. Storage dams 
at Dooley Pond, on the upper course of the west branch, and at a 

1 Report on the investigation of the pollution of streams, p. 45, Connecticut State 
Board of Health, Hartford, 1915. 

154445°— 20 5 



66 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

similar reservoir on the east branch aid in controlling the flow for 
factory use. 

The average low-water flow of Sumner Brook probably is pro- 
portional to that of Coginchaug River, which has a total drainage 
area of about 38.7 square miles and an average summer flow at its 
mouth of 18 second- feet. 1 The entire drainage area of Sumner 
Brook is about 12.4 square miles, so its mean summer supply to the 
storage dams along its branches is presumably 5 or 6 second-feet. 

The highland area in the eastern part of the town is drained 
mainly by brooks that flow eastward to the Connecticut. Hubbard 
Brook and another stream that crosses the southeast border of the 
town are the largest of these brooks, but each carried only about 
three-quarters of a second-foot early in May, 1915. 

The northwest portion of the highland is drained by two small 
brooks, whose headwaters have been dammed to furnish a water 
supply for the State Hospital at South Farms. 

WATER SUPPLIES. 

Surface water. — In 1866 the city of Middletown constructed Laurel 
Brook reservoir for a municipal water supply. This reservoir has a 
mean depth of 10 feet and a capacity of 220,000,000 gallons. Its 
watershed has an area of 1.05 square miles (672 acres). The growth 
and increased needs of the city rendered the supply from this reser- 
voir inadequate about 1897, and Higby Mountain reservoir was 
constructed, with a maximum depth of about 27 feet, a capacity 
of 308,000,000 gallons, and a drainage area of 2.06 square miles 
(1,318.4 acres). The total safe daily supply from the two reservoirs, 
estimated at 2,300,000 gallons, was nearly reached during 1913, it 
being estimated that in the later part of that year 15,000 people were 
served, the average daily consumption being 2,000,000 gallons, or 
133 gallons per capita. By complete metering of the system and 
the reduction of all wastes to a minimum, however, it has been 
estimated that the present supply will suffice for the needs of the 
moderately growing city for a number of years longer. On the basis 
of an average daily consumption of 90 gallons per capita and the 
present rate of growth, the supply has been figured as sufficient 
until 1940. Beseck Lake is considered by hydraulic engineers to 
offer an available source when an additional supply is needed. 

During the summer months some trouble is experienced from a 
taste and odor developed by algae in the open reservoirs, but treat- 
ment with copper sulphate has very appreciably reduced this un- 

1 Connecticut State Board of Health Rept., p. 45, 1914. See also estimate on p. 37. 
based on discharge of Quinnipiac River. 



MIDDLKTOW'N. 



67 



favorable condition. The following partial analyses show the 
general quality of water in the two reservoirs. The low figures 
for dissolved solids and hardness indicate waters suitable for in- 
dustrial use and domestic supplies. The water from Laurel Brook 
reservoir has a higher content of dissolved solids, owing, it is said, 
to the greater effect of evaporation during this reservoir's longer 
period of use. 

Analyses of water from Laurel Brook and Higby Mountain reservoirs* 

[Parts per million.] 





Total residue. ' Chloride radicle. 


Hardness. 


Dates of collection of samples. 


Laurel ' Hi 8 b y 


Laurel 
Brook. 


Higby 
Moun- 
tain. 


Laurel 
Brook. 


Higby 
Moun- 
tain. 


August 1889, to June, 1891 


42 
57 

63 




2.3 




18 
31 

31 




February, 1909, to September, 1910 

Julv, 1912, to March, 1913 (Laurel Brook), 
and July, 1913 (Higbv Mountain) 


54 
51 


3.0 
1.9 


2.8 
2.4 


25 

24 



a From report of a consulting engineer. Name of analyst not given. 

In 1880 a 2,500,000-gallon impounding reservoir was constructed 
on a branch of Pameachea Brook by an earthen dam 300 feet long, 
as a water supply for the State Industrial Home for Girls. One or 
more drilled wells on the grounds have within recent years aug- 
mented this surface-water supply. 

The State Hospital for the Insane, situated at South Farms, is 
supplied by five storage reservoirs, as shown on Plate IV (in pocket). 
Three mains, 6, 8, and 16 inches, respectively, in diameter, conduct 
the water to the grounds. The two reservoirs that are not thus 
directly connected contain additional storage supplies that can be 
turned into the adjacent reservoirs. 

The only other surface-water supply reported in the town is a 
system that pumps water from Laurel Brook to a private estate on 
a knoll one-third of a mile west of Long Hill. 

The available records indicate that in 1915 about 15,000 people 
were supplied from the Middletown municipal water system and 
about 3,000 from the systems of the Industrial School and the State 
Hospital. 

As is shown in the preceding paragraph, about 18,000 people, or 
82 per cent of the entire population of Middletown, are supplied 
with surface water. The remaining 4,000 people depend on indi- 
vidual wells and springs. 

Water in stratified drift. — The areas of stratified drift in the 
northwestern part of the town are to a large extent underlain by 
clay, and although supplies of water sufficient for domestic pur- 



68 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

poses may be obtained, the fine-textured sediments do not readily 
yield water. Detailed study of the stratified drift as a water bearer 
was not made, but so far as was observed it seemed that the stratified 
deposits in the valley of the main branch of Sumner Brook were 
more sandy than in the areas farther west and north and offered the 
most favorable conditions for the development of ground water on 
a large scale for industrial or municipal use. 

The average depth to water early in May, 1915, in the 21 dug 
wells that obtain water from the stratified drift was 13.1 feet (see 
fig. 3, p. 16), but the water level ranged in individual wells from 3 
feet in a hillside well to 26 feet in a well in the lowland. 1 Only one 
of these wells (No. 20) is said to go dry in summer. 

Water in till. — As the greater part of the town is covered by 
deposits of till, the majority of the domestic wells obtain supplies 
from this material. There is marked difference in the depth to water 
in different wells, owing to the diversity in the surface features of 
the town, which includes crystalline highlands thinly covered with 
till in the southeast, sandstone hills in the south, and trap ridges in 
the northwest,, as well as rolling lands more deeply covered with till 
throughout the central portion. The extremes of water level in. the 
55 wells in till that were measured were 2 and 36 feet, both extremes 
being in wells on slopes. The average depth to water in the hillside 
wells in till was 16.1 feet, early in May, 1915, and 10.3 feet and 12.3 
feet, respectively, in wells in lowlands and on hilltops. The fact 
that the shallowest average depth in wells in till was on hilltops may 
have been because the relatively thin layer of till and consequent 
shallow depth to bedrock on the higher lands kept the water table 
nearer the surface than in localities where the till is thick. 

Water in bedrock. — Many of the wells in till go dry in summer, 
and in localities where these glacial deposits are too thin to furnish 
reliable water supplies, wells drilled into the bedrock have of late 
years come into favor. The 16 drilled wells that were noted in the 
town (see p. 71) range from 57 to more than 200 feet in depth, aver- 
aging about 113 feet, and the average depth to water in May, 1915, 
was about 25 feet. One well (No. 102) furnishes water at the rate of 
about 20 gallons a minute. So far as was learned, the other drilled 
wells have smaller capacities, though careful pumping tests might 
show that they are capable of yielding more than the amounts with 
which their owners credit them. The lower half of one well (No. 
24) is drilled in the "Main" trap sheet but furnishes a supply of about 
5 gallons a minute from this rock. The trap here is probably frac- 
tured and fissured to a greater extent than usual, as the locality is 

1 In the preparation of figure 3 Middletown dug wells Nos. 17, 70, 72, and 84 were 
omitted, for they obtain water from the sandstone. 



MIDPLETOWN. 



69 



close to one of the largest faults or breaks in the rock structure, 
(See PI. Ill, in pocket.) 

The quality of water in the drilled wells is indicated by the analyses 
of water from three of them included in the table on page 72. They 
are waters of moderate mineral content, in which the principal 
constituents are the usual calcium and bicarbonate. These constit- 
uents are largely responsible for the rather high hardness of the 
waters. This hardness would be somewhat objectionable in washing, 
for soap would be wastefully consumed, and in steam-making, for 
the formation of scale would gradually lower the efficiency of the 
boilers and eventually necessitate cleaning them. 

Springs. — Several springs in Middletown furnish domestic water 
supplies, and in 1915 water from three of them (Nos. 35, 37, and 87) 
was. sold locally for table use. Two other springs (Nos. 27 and 103) 
also were formerly developed commercially. Water from a spring 
near the southwest border of the town has long been piped southward 
as a. supply for the village of Durham, but in 1915 the spring was 
not accessible to the writer. The analyses of three of the spring 
waters given on page 72 show that they contain notably less mineral 
matter in solution than the average well waters, but the principal 
dissolved substances in the springs also are calcium and bicarbonate. 

RECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 



The following lists, of wells and springs through the town are 
believed to represent typical conditions in their respective vicinities. 
The locations of the several wells and springs are indicated on 
Plate II. 

Dug wells in Middletown. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic 
position. 


Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 


Total 
depth. 


Depth 
to 

water 
May, 
1915. 


Method of lift. 


Remarks. 


2 




• Feet. 
240 

105 
40 
230 
150 
140 
110 
25 
225 
230 

150 
145 
210 
210 

60 
220 
120 

45 


Feet. 

38 

27 
29 
18 
38 
21 
24 
13 
15 
15 

14 
16 
15 
30 

16 
21 
29 
23 


Feet. 
33 

12 
17 

9 
29 
13 
20 
10 
12 

9 

10 
3 
9 

25 

9 
12 
23 

7 


Hand pump 

Rope and bucket.. 


Dry in summer; sandstone pene- 


3 

4 


do 

do 

do 

do 


trated. 


5 
6 
7 


Chain pump 

Wheel and bucket . 

Windlass 

do 


Dry in summer. 
Never dry. 
Dry in summer. 


8 


Slope 


Do. 


9 


Lowland 

Base of hill 


do 




10 


do 


Do. 


12 


Pitcher pump 

Hand pump 

do 


Supplies horse trough; sandston 


13 




penetrated . 
Dry in summer; trap penetrated. 


14 


do 

Saddle 


Never dry. 

Dry In summer; sandstone below 6 
feet. 


15 
17 


Chain pump 


19 


Knoll 


do 


20 




Rope and bucket.. 
Wheel and bucket. 


Dry in summer. 


21 

22 


do 

Flat 


Never dry. 



70 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

Dug tvells in Middletown — Continued. 



Map 
No. 



Topographic 
position. 



Eleva- 
tion 
above 

sea 
level. 



Total 
depth. 



Depth 

to 
water 
May, 
1915. 



Method of lift. 



Remarks. 



97 



100 
101 

105 
106 
107 
108 
109 
111 



Slope 

Base of knoll. 

Slope 

do 

Swale 

Slope 

do 

do 

Base of hill... 
Lowland 



do 

Saddle 

Slope 

Base of hill. 

Slope 

do 



do... 

Lowland . 
Slope 



Base of knoll. 

Slope 

....do 

Swale 

....do 

Knoll 



Ridge 

Slope 

Saddle 

Slope 

Lowland . . . 

Slope 

Base of hill. 
Slope 



do 

Knoll 

Slope 

Base of hill. 



Slope . . 
....do. 
....do. 
Swale . 



Slope 

....do 

Base of hill. 
Slope 



Low ridge. 
Lowland . . 

Swale 

Knoll 

Saddle .... 

Swale 

Slope 

....do.... 
....do.... 



Base of hill. 
Swale 



....do. 
....do. 
Slope . . 
....do. 
Ridge. . 
....do. 



Feet. 
220 
280 
290 
250 
280 
320 
380 
130 
100 
40 

50 
440 
380 
120 
160 

60 

180 
60 

70 

140 
70 
50 
80 
130 
150 

130 
150 
185 
120 

15 
140 

20 
180 

140 
160 
180 
120 

210 
200 
270 
350 

370 
175 
140 
210 

190 
115 
210 
340 
360 
300 
340 
400 
410 

220 
210 

200 
560 
300 
120 
170 
160 



Feet. 
27 
17 
40 
20 
21 
50 
26 
26 
23 
21 

25 
12 
16 
19 
33 
17 

21 
25 

28 

25 
21 
22 
15 
20 
29 

32 
24 
10 
10 
21 
29 
29 
25 

17 
31 
15 
11 

18 

41 

14 

5 

28 
20 

18 
33 

17 
13 
17 
20 

8 
18 
14 



Feet. 
22 
13 
36 
16 
17 
23 
18 
8 
17 
13 

17 
4 

5 
17 

28 



Bucket. 



Windlass. 
do... 



Hand pump. 
Windlass . . . 

do 

do 

do 



do 

Hand pump . . 

Windlass 

do 

do 

Chain pump . 



do... 

Windlass . 
do... 



.do. 



Rope and bucket. 

Windlass 

do 

do 



do 

Chain pump. 
Windlass 
Chain pump . 

Windlass 

do 

do 

do 



14 do. 

10 do. 

Chain pump . 

Windlass 



Wheel and bucket 

do 

Windlass 

Rope and bucket. 



Windlass 

....do 

Hand pump . 
Windlass 



Windlass 

Chain pump 

Windlass 

Rope and bucket. 

Windlass 

....do 

Rope and bucket. 
do 



Chain pump. 



Windlass 

Hand pump 

Windlass 

Chain pump 

do 

Rope and bucket. 



Never dry. 

Unused; dry in summer. 

Never dry. 

Do. 
Unused; have city water. 
Sandstone penetrated. 
Never dry. 

Do. 
Dry in summer. 
Never dry during 30 years; supplies 

several families. 
33 feet above Connecticut River. 

Seldom dry. 
Dry in summer. 
Do. 

Gets low in summer; have city water 

sandstone penetrated. 
Never dry. 

Never dry; used as milk cooler; have 

city water. 
Never dry. 
Unused. 

Used only as milk cooler. 
Not dry during 9 years. 
Dry in summer. 
Dry in summer; 100 yards from 

No. 57. 

Never dry; last 3 feet in sandstone. 
Never dry; supplies 4 families. 
Dry in summer. 

Gets low but not dry. 

At Maromas station. 

Gets low but not dry; last 12 feet in 

sandstone. 
Last 4 feet in sandstone. 
Gets low but not dry. 
Dry in summer. 
Spring No. 75, which is 100 yards 

north, furnishes drinking water. 



Gets low but not dry. 

Do. 
10 feet south of brook, 
exposed. 



Pegmatite 



Never dry. 

Dry in summer; 300 feet from No. 82. 

Scant supply; gets low but not dry; 

last 12 feet in sandstone. 
Unused; have city water. 
Never dry. 



Dry in summer. 
Do. 

At border of small marsh; 200 feet 

from No. 98. 
Never dry. 
Unused; 125 feet from and 12 feet 

below No. 100. 

At base of large pegmatite ledge. 



In small marshy area. 



MIDDLETOWN. 
Drilled irclls in M iddletOWIt. 



71 



Map 
No. 


Topographic 
position. 


Eleva- 
tion 

above 

sea 

level. 


Total 
depth. 


Depth 

to 
water 
Mav, 
1915. 


Depth 
to 

rook. 


Kind of rock. 


Yield. 


Remarks. 


1 


Slope 


Feet. 
130 
225 

210 

220 

280 
410 
470 

100 
150 
170 
210 
220 
270 
200 
140 

200 


Feet. 
112 
129 

90 

90 
65 
101 

200+ 

150 

98 
115 

86 
120 
230 

57 

70 

100 


Feet. 
30 
15 

25 

30 
15 
34 
16 

30 
20 
35 
20 
20 
20 
20 
30 

30 


Feet. 




Gallons 

per 
minute. 




11 


Base of hill 

Slope 


do 


4 




16 




do 


(See analysis, p. 72.) 
At Wcstfield school. (See 


IS 


do 




do 




analysis, p. 72.) 
Good supply. 


24 


Base of knoll. .. 


30 

50 


Trap 


5 
4 


33 


Sandstone. .. . 
do 




42 


Knoll 


Drilling in dug well that 
dried; 1 gallon a minute 
at 35 feet, but no other 
supply down to 200 feet. 


49 


Slope 


55 


do 




57 


Knoll 


do 






61 


Slope 


100± 
17 


do 






63 
86 


do 

Knoll 


do 

do 


8 


Small supply. 


90 


18 
10 


do 

do 

do 


8 

7 

20 


92 
102 


Base of hill 
Base of ridge . . . 

Slope 


Supplies dairy of 50 cows; 
gas engine. 


104 


3 


do 










(See analysis, p. 72.) 



Springs in Middletoum. 



Map : Topographic 
No. i position. 


Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 


Tem- 
pera- 
ture. 


Yield. J Bedrock. 


Remarks. 


27 




Feet. 
220 
240 
300 
160 
120 

120 

180 
250 
170 

140 
140 

160 

220 

150 

160 


'/. 


Gallons 

per 
minute. 
2± 


Sandstone .... 
do 


Highland Spring. (See analysis, p. 72.) 

Domestic supply. 

Supplies roadside watering trough. 

Crystal Spring; bottled and sold locally. 

Beech Spring; domestic supply, also 
bottled and sold locally. (See" analy- 
sis, p. 72.) 

Whitmore Spring; in small marshy area; 
domestic supply. 

Domestic supply! 


29 




31 
35 


do 

do 

Base of knoll. . 

Slope 


50 
49 


1 

(») 

2 

o 


do 

Trap. 


37 

59 


Sandstone .... 

do 

Gneiss 

Sandstone 

do 

do 


66 


do 

do 


69 






71 


51 


o 


75 feet west of brook; roadside drinking 
spring. 

Domestic supply. 

Oak Spring; bottled and sold locally. 
(See analysis, p. 72.) 

Hubbard Spring; domestic supply and 
roadside watering trough; flow no- 
ticeably less in summer. 

Domestic supply. 

Mountainview " Spring; unused; for- 
merly bottled and sold locally. 


75 




87 
93 


Base of low 

ridge. 
Slope 




16$ 
i 


do 

do 

do 


94 


do 

Rase of slope. . 


103 
110 


50 
48 


3 


do 

Gneiss 









a Slight. 
ANALYSES OF GROUND WATER. 



In the following table are given three analyses of water derived 
from drilled wells and three of water derived from springs in Mid- 
dletown. The analyses are discussed on pages 19-21. 



72 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 



Chemical composition and classification of water from icclls and springs in 

Middletoim. 

[Parts per million. Samples collected May, 1915; S. C. Dinsmore, analyst.] 



Silica (Si0 2 ) 

Iron (Fe) 

Calcium (Ca) 

Magnesium (Mg) 

Sodium and potassium (Na+K) &.. . 

Carbonate radicle (CO3) 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 

Sulphate radicle (S0 4 ) 

Chloride radicle (CI) , 

Nitrate radicle (N0 3 ) 

Total dissolved solids at 180° C 

Total hardness as CaCC-3 6 

Probable scale-forming ingredients b . 

Probability of corrosion b, c 

Quality for boiler use 

Chemical character 



Wells. 



15 

Trace. 

28 

14 

.6 

.0 

117 

11 

7.0 

14 

159 

127 

120 

(?) 

Fair. 

Ca-CCv, 



10 

Trace. 

33 

19 

.7 

.0 

148 

10 

11 

18 

187 

160 

140 

(?) 

Fair. 

Ca-C0 3 



20 
Trace. 
41 
19 
8.5 
.0 
219 
9.0 
7.0 
.0 
213 
180 
170 
N 
Fair. 
Ca-CC-3 



Springs. 



16 
Trace. 
22 
7.2 
.0 
.0 
70 
8.6 
3.0 
.0 
96 
84 
93 

(?) 
Good. 
Ca-COs 



19 
Trace. 
21 
5.6 
.0 
.0 
65 
Trace. 
6.0 
14 
102 
75 
90 
(?) 
Good. 
Ca-CC-3 



15 

.20 
23 
4.1 
.0 
.0 
46 
16 
4.0 

s. a 



(?) 

Good. 
Ca-COs 



a. Numbers at heads of columns correspond to those on map (PI. II, in pocket) and in table (p. 71). 

b Computed. 

e N=noncorrosive; (?)=corrosion doubtful. 

ROCKY HILL. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The town of Rocky Hill forms the northeast corner of the area 
discussed in this paper. It embraces the land that lies between 
Connecticut River on the east and Mattabesset River on the west, 
and between the towns of Newington and Wethersfield on the north 
and of Cromwell on the south. 

The name Rocky Hill first appears in the records of Wethersfield 
in 1649, and a grant of land at Rocky Hill was made to Samuel 
Boardman in the same year. Historical records indicate that a. 
small community existed at Rocky Hill in 1680, the immigrants be- 
ing the sons of settlers in Wethersfield who started a new community 
at the convenient landing place 4 miles farther south, on the west 
bank of the Connecticut, where the river swings over to the base 
of the rocky hill from which the town is named. It is probable 
that not more than half a dozen families constituted the first settle- 
ment, and it was not until 1720 that it was organized as a parish 
of the town of Wethersfield. The name " Stepney Parish " was 
adopted in 1723, but the local name of Rocky Hill clung to the 
community, and this name was formally adopted in 1826. 1 The pres- 
ent town was incorporated from Wethersfield in 1843. The original 
settlement has remained the principal village, but the population has 
also spread along the main highway extending to the north and to 



1 The hill has been locally known as Sbipmans Hill, from the tavern of Samuel Ship- 
man, early built at its western base. 



ROCKY HILL. 73 

the south, and a number of farmhouses also dot the western portion 
of the town. 

The area of the town, taking its eastern boundary as the center of 
Connecticut River, is about 0.100 acres, according to planimeter 
measurement on the Middletown topographic map. 1 About 240 
acres of this total is covered by the river surface, however. There 
are only three or four small ponds in the town, and their combined 
area is only 10 or 15 acres, but four areas of marsh in the northern 
part, near the headwaters of small brooks, cover a total of about 120 
acres. About 23 per cent of the town, or 2,100 acres, is wooded. 
(See PI. IV, in pocket.) The woods occupy lands that are chiefly 
in the southern and eastern portions of the town. These wood lots 
have been repeatedly cut over, so that very few large trees are left. 

POPULATION AND INDUSTRIES. 

Shipbuilding and maritime commerce, to which the parish had 
access through Connecticut River, early became the principal indus- 
tries. In 1779, during the industrial depression caused by the Revo- 
lution, the parish had a population 2 of 881, and during the succeed- 
ing 30 or 40 years it developed, chiefly as a shipbuilding center, until 
it probably had greater industrial importance than it has at present. 
About 1820 shipbuilding at Rocky Hill began to decline, owing to 
its more favorable development at other river points, and since that 
time the population of the town has not changed much. The nor- 
mal increase due to excess of births over deaths has been about bal- 
anced by the excess of those who have moved away over the number 
of newcomers. The maximum population was reached in 1872-1874, 
immediateh T after the construction of the New York, New Haven & 
Hartford Railroad through the town. This development led to an 
increase of perhaps 150 in the number of inhabitants, but within a 
few years this temporary gain was lost. Although the population 
has remained nearly stationary, its character has changed consid- 
erably in the last half century, owing to the emigration of the 
descendants of the English settlers and the incoming of an increas- 
ingly large proportion of Irish. Figure 10 shows the population of 
the town for the periods for which the figures are available. 

Transportation by water on Connecticut River and by rail over the 
Valley division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, 
which traverses the western border of the river valley, afford easy 
outlet for produce. A trolley line also gives frequent service between 
Rocky Mill village and other settlements to the north and to the 

1 The area is given as 9,111 acres on p. 444 of the Connecticut State Register and 
Manual, 1015. 

2 Stiles, H. R., History of ancient Wethersfield, Conn., p. 952, New York, 1904. 



74 



GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 



south. The main highway, paralleling the trolley line, is metaled 
and also affords easy transportation to and from the principally 
settled portions of the town. 

Since the decline of shipbuilding the chief 
manufacturing industries in the town have been 
the making of machinery and of iron castings 
and forgings. Agriculture and dairying prob- 
ably are the chief industrial pursuits in the 
town, however. The northeastern part, be- 
tween Goff Brook and Connecticut River, is 
meadow land that is too moist for the success- 
ful raising of crops other than the native 
grasses, but the greater part of the remainder 
of the town is tilled. Corn and hay are staple 
crops, though a considerable acreage in the 
southern portion is devoted to tobacco growing. 

GEOLOGY. 

Both of the great faults that traverse the 
region in a southwesterly direction cross the 
town of Rocky Hill. The eastern fault crosses 
only the southeast corner of the town, but the 
western fault extends through its central por- 
tion. Several minor faults also displace the 
rock beds, and the structure within the town 
is complex. From the northwest portion of the 
town the successive Triassic rock beds, from 
the " Main " trap sheet upward to the upper 
sandstone, inclusive, form the surficial rock east- 
ward through the northern portion of the town. 
Southeastward, however, the series of beds is 
traversed before the western of the two major 
fault zones is reached, and east of this zone 
the beds above the " Main " trap sheet are re- 
peated. (See PI. III.) 

The most remarkable feature of the bedrock 
structure is the manner in which the rocks 
have apparently been rotated by horizontal 
movement along the major faults, so that in 
the block between these two great zones of dis- 
placement the exposed belts of " Posterior " 
trap are swung far from the normal north and 
§ south trend. The surficial distribution of the 

Noixvinaod several members of the Triassic system that has 



CO 






\ 


M 


s 


tn 

ID 

o 




en 

O 


CO 

o 




o 


\ 


t^ 
01 


i 


• 


o 






00 

o 


CO 

-' 
































1 

1 






15 


OJ 




1<D 


c- 



ROCKY HILL. 75 

resulted from the faulting is shown on Plate III (in pocket), and the 
method by which the faulting has accomplished this distribution is in 
part indicated by structure section A-B, on the same plate. 

The lower lands in the town are covered by stratified glacial drift. 
Near Mattabesset River, in the southwest corner of the town, and 
along the branches of Goff Brook, in its northern portion, the strati- 
fied deposits are not very prominent, but in the south and southeast 
they form a sand plain that has an elevation of about 180 feet above 
sea level. The method of formation of this plain is not clearly un- 
derstood, but it was probably produced by water from the glacial ice 
front at a period when the main front of the ice sheet was just north 
of it and the drainage southward was partly obstructed by glacial 
debris and remnants of the ice sheet in the lower valley of the Matta- 
besset and of the Connecticut at Middletown. 1 

The central and western portions of the town are covered by un- 
stratified glacial deposits or till. On the higher hills this material 
appears to be thick, and some of the hilltops probably are drumlins, 
but over much of the surface the till is very thin, and the underlying 
rock is exposed in many road cuts and small cliffs, as is indicated 
on Plate II. 

SURFACE FEATURES. 

The most prominent natural feature in the town is the ridge that 
extends northwestward from the village of Rocky Hill nearly to 
the town line. It is formed by the " Posterior " or upper trap sheet, 
which also forms the bedrock immediately below the glacial deposits 
in other portions of the town. (See PI. Ill, in pocket.) Eastward 
from this rocky ridge a wide, flat meadow only slightly above sea 
level, extends to Connecticut River. South and west from the ridge 
the surface is rolling or hilly. In the north-central part of the town 
the general rolling surface is modified by small marshy areas, and 
in the south-central portion a sand plain, which continues south- 
ward into Cromwell, forms a considerable area of level land. 

Although the ridge known as Shipman Hill, near Rocky Hill vil- 
lage, is the most prominent surface feature in the town, it is not the 
highest, for the slopes on the northwest border reach an elevation 
of about 310 feet, or fully 100 feet higher than the ridge. Most of 
the hilltops throughout the rest of the town also attain elevations 
between 200 and 300 feet. The relief of all these other hills is con- 
siderably less, however, as Shipman Hill rises practically from sea 
level to a height of 200 feet. The lowest portion of the town is of course 
along Connecticut River, where the influence of the tide is felt. 

1 Loughlin, G. F., The clays and clay industries of Connecticut: Connecticut Geol. 
and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 4, p. 24, 1905. 



76 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

STREAMS. 

The western portion of Rocky Hill, comprising about 2,775 acres, 
or 30.5 per cent of the total area, drains southwestward to Mattabesset 
River through three or four small brooks that rise in the town. The 
largest of these brooks has its course entirely within Rocky Hill and 
joins the Mattabesset three-eighths of a mile above the southwest 
corner of the town. Its basin has an area of about 1,250 acres and 
its normal discharge is perhaps half a second-foot. In the last half 
mile of its course the stream flows through lowlands and in no por- 
tion of its course does it offer possibilities of development of power. 
The greater part of the remainder of the town is drained by several 
branches of Goff Brook, which first flows northward across the town 
line and then returns, flowing southeastward along the eastern base 
of Shipman Hill to the Connecticut. Throughout most of its course 
it is a sluggish stream, and it is affected by the tide for its last mile 
or more. The meadow area that forms the northeast part of the 
town has no well-defined drainage channels other than Goff Brook, 
and the precipitation on this land finds its way to the Connecticut, 
either directly or by way of the brook, chiefly through seepage. The 
southeastern part of the town is drained by two streams. Hog 
Brook flows northeastward and enters the Connecticut on the south- 
ern border of Rocky Hill village. Although this brook usually flows 
throughout the year, in May, 1915, it was a stream only a foot wide 
and an inch deep, in its lower course. Dividend Brook drains the 
area farther south. It rises in the south-central part of the town 
at the northwest border of the sand plain, and after flowing east 
for 1| miles it turns southward and continues in this direction across 
the town line before swinging sharply northeast back into Rocky 
Hill. From the town line it continues northeastward to the lowland 
along the Connecticut. About three-eighths of a mile above its 
mouth Dividend Brook falls over a small ledge. A gristmill was 
built at this site in 1669, and the small available water power has 
nearly ever since been used by mill or factory. 

WATER SUPPLIES. 

Water in glacial deposits. — The domestic water supply throughout 
the town is obtained from individual wells and from a few springs. 

Stratified drift covers the extensive meadow in the northeast cor- 
ner of Rocky Hill, the sand plain in the southern portion, and the 
lower lands along its eastern, northern, and western borders. The 
northeastern area is too wet for habitation or cultivation, as water 
stands nearly at the surface over the greater part of it. This land 
could be improved by drainage, and it could doubtless furnish large 



ROCKY HILL. 77 

amounts of shallow ground water, but the water from this saturated 
land may be of unsuitable quality for many purposes. The depths to 
water in four wells (Nos. 10. 41, 42, and 43) in the sand plain in the 
southern part of the town indicate that the ground-water level deepens 
eastward, toward the main channel of Dividend Brook, in the same 
way that in the southward continuation of the plain in Cromwell the 
underground drainage is toward the main surface stream. In the 
other drift-covered portions of Rocky Hill few records of dug wells 
were obtained, but the shallower water levels seem in general to be 
found on the lower slopes. The average depth to water in the 10 
drift wells measured in May, 1915, was 13 feet (see fig. 3, p. 16), or 
slightly less than the average depth to water in all drift wells ob- 
served in the six towns that were studied. 

In the till-covered portions of Rocky Hill the depth to water was 
measured in 22 dug wells that obtain water from this material. Dug 
well 28 has been omitted because it probably obtains water from trap 
rock. The depth in May, 1915, ranged from 7 to 21 feet, both the 
maximum and minimum depths to w T ater being approximated in indi- 
vidual wells on hilltops, on slopes, and in lowlands. The average 
depth to water in the 22 wells was 13.7 feet, as compared with 13 
feet in the measured wells of the town that end in drift. 

Water in sandstone and trap. — Many of the dug wells, especially 
those sunk in till, go dry in summer. Within recent years, therefore, 
deeper wells have been put down by drilling machines at a number of 
places. These drilled wells yield unfailing supplies of water, though 
the capacity of some of them is very small. Two. of the 11 drilled 
wells that were observed yield small artesian flows. One of these 
(No. 5) is only 55 feet deep, and only the lower 9 feet is in sand- 
stone, from which rock a flow of half a gallon a minute is obtained. 
The artesian pressure is very probably due to the chance intersection 
of a favorable arrangement of fissures in the rock and not to an exten- 
sive artesian condition; for in well 4, only 200 or 300 yards to the 
north, little or no artesian pressure was encountered. Well 23, 
drilled to a depth of 65 feet in the trap at the southern end of Ship- 
man Hill, has an artesian flow about equal to that of well 5. The 
artesian pressure in well 23 is apparently furnished by water in fis- 
sures in the trap that compose the hill, and the well is doubtless sup- 
plied by water that reaches it along the system of fissures and crev- 
ices in the trap. The following analysis of water from this well 
shows that it is noticeably more highly mineralized than the usual 
shallow-well waters of the region. Calcium, magnesium, and bicar- 
bonate predominate, but the chloride and nitrate constituents are 
also higher than the average and indicate the possibility of con- 
tamination. 



78 GROUND WATER 1ST THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

Chemical composition and classification of water from drilled well 23 at Rocky 

Hill, 

[Sample collected May, 1915 ; S. C. Dinsmore, analyst.] 

Parts per 
million. 
Silica (Si0 2 ) 23 

Iron (Fe) Trace. 

Calcium (Ca) 58 

Magnesium (Mg) 32 

Sodium and potassium (Na+K) 1 - 7.0 

Carbonate radicle (C0 3 ) .0 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO s ) 251 

Sulphate radicle (SO*) 8.6 

Chloride radicle (CI) 36 

Nitrate radicle (NO a ) — 32 

Total dissolved solids determined at 1S0° C 367 

Total hardness as CaCOs 1 276 

Probable scale-forming ingredients * 250 

Probability of corrosion 1,2 (?) 

Quality for boiler use Poor. 

Chemical character Ca-C0 3 

Another well (No. 12), drilled at the base of Shipman Hill, pene- 
trated the trap sheet and draws part of its water from the under- 
lying sandstone. This well, by means of an electrically operated 
pump and a small storage tank on the hillside, supplies water to six 
families near by. 

Springs. — Two springs (Nos. 26 and 44) were noticed in Rocky 
Hill that are used for domestic supply. Each issues near a stream 
channel from the mantle of stratified drift overlying the sand- 
stone, and though their yields are small they are said to be peren- 
nial. No other springs were seen in the town, but similar ones prob- 
ably issue near the courses of other brooks. 

RECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 

Data concerning a number of wells and springs in the town of 
Rocky Hill are given in the following table. The locations of these 
sources of water are indicated on Plate II. The wells listed are 
believed to be typical of those in the several portions of the town. 

1 Computed. a (?)=corrosion doubtful. 



ROCKY HILL. 
Dug wells in Rocky II ill. 



79 



Map 

No. 



Topographic 
position. 



Knoll 

Swale 

Slope 

do 

Base of hill 

do 

Slope 

do 

do 

Base of hill 

Slope 

do 

do 

Knoll 

Slope 

Ridge 

Slope 

do 

do 

do 



do 

Base of hill. 

Saddle 

Swale 

Slope 

do 

do 

Flat 

Swale 

Flat 

do 

Slope 

do 



Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 



Fa I. 
220 
210 

130 
110 

110 
110 
170 
200 
210 
200 
220 
210 

180 
165 
120 
150 
110 



170 
175 



190 
190 

250 
160 
150 
170 
50 
170 
150 

170 



165 
180 
170 



Total 
depth. 



Feet. 



Depth 

to 
water 
Mav, 
1915. 



Feet. 
18 
8 

11 

15 

12 
12 
20 
18 
16 
19 
21 
15 

It 
15 

7 
15 

5 



Methods of lift. 



Rope and bucket. 
Bucket 



Windlass. 
...do.... 



.do. 



Windlass 

do 

Chain pump 

Windlass 

Wheel and bucket 
Windlass 



do 

do 

Chain pump. 
Windlass — 
do 



Chain pump. 
do 



Windlass. 



Chain pump . 
Windlass 



do 

Chain pump. 

Windlass 

Chain pump. 
Hand pump. 

Windlass 

Chain pump. 

Hand pump. 



Windlass 

do 

Wheel and bucket, 



Remarks. 



Dry In summer. 

Dry in dry summers; 150 feet from 
and 6 feet above small pond. 

Dry in summer; sandstone pene- 
trated. 

Unused. 

Dry in summer. 
Sandstone penetrated. 
Dry in summer. 

180 feet northeast of well No. IS and 

6 feet lower. 
Dry in summer. 



Dry In summer; better water ob- 
tained from spring No. 26, 200 feet 
northwest. 

Dry in summer. 

In trap; barnyard supply; 200 feet 
from No. 29. 

Low in summer; used mainly as a 
milk cooler. 

Sandstone penetrated. 

Never dry. Trap quarry 400 feet 
south; also on east side of road. 

Dry only once in 53 years. 

Dry in summer. 

Never dry. 

Gets low but never dry. 

Never dry; 175 feet from and 13 feet 

above brook. 
Formerly dry in summer; drive 

point in bottom of well gives good 

supply. 
Dry in summer. 
Never dry; also supplies neighbors. 



Drilled wells in Rocky Hill. 



Map 
No. 


Topographic- 
position. 


Eleva- 
tion 

above 
sea 

level. 


Total 
depth. 


Depth 

to 
water 
May, 
1915. 


Depth 

to 
rock. 


Kind of rock. 


Yield. 


Remarks. 


3 


Slope 


Feet. 
200 
80 
75 
130 
110 

110 

. 210 

30 

190 
180 
110 


Feet. 
97 
41 
55 
120 
100 

98 
40 
65 

150 
125 

75 


Feet. 
16 
20 

30 
30 

15 
11 


15 
20 
45 


Feet. 

40 

46 




Gallons 

per 
minute. 


Dug 20, drilled 77. 


4 


Low ridge 

do 


do 




5 


do .... 


i 

2 




7 


Slope 






9 


do 


16 


Through trap 
into sandstone. 


25 
7 


Supplies 180 cows, 16 
horses, and several 
families. 

Supplies 6 families; elec- 
trically operated pump. 

Dug 17, drilled 23; good 
supply. 


12 
16 


Base of hill 

Slope 


23 


Base of hill 

Slope 


Trap 


i 


31 




and horse trough. 
Frank Holmes, owner. 
(See analysis, p. 78.) 


37 


do 


. do... 


1} 




39 






...do 


Small supply. 













80 GROUND WATER IN THE MERIDEN AREA, CONN. 

Springs in Rocky Hill. 



Map 

No. 


Topographic position. 


Eleva- 
tion 
above sea 
level. 


Temper- 
ature. 


Yield. 


Bedrock. 


Remarks 


26 




Feet. 
120 

140 


F. 
52 


Gallons 
per min- 
ute. 

1 




Domestic supply. 
Do. 


44 




do 











INDEX. 



Page. 

Algae, purification of waters from 66-67 

Altitudes in the area 7, 

23, 35-36, 44, 55, 64, 75 

Analyses of well and spring waters- 19-21, 

32, 40, 52, 59, 71-72, 78 

Area covered, extent of 6 

Artesian wells, scarcity of 15 

Availability of ground water in the 

area 14-17 

Baileyville, Middlefield, esker near, 

plate showing 12 

population of 52 

Bear Hill, Middletown, height of 64 

Beckley, Berlin, industries of 23 

location of 21,22 

Bedrock, succession of formations in_ 6—7 
See also Sandstone and Trap 
rock. 
Belcher Brook, Berlin, area drained 

by 24 

Berlin, drainage of 23-25 

geology of 25-27 

ground waters in, analyses of 32 

historical sketch of 21-22 

land and water in, areas of 22 

population and industries of 22-23 

springs in, features and records 

of 29,31 

surface features of 23 

water supplies in 27—29 

wells in, records of 29-31 

Beseck Lake, Middlefield, features - 

of 53,55,66 

Beseck Mountain, Middlefield, struc- 
ture of 42-43, 55 

Black Pond, Meriden and Middle- 
field, location of 53 

plate showing 8 

Boulders in field near Harbor Brook, 
Meriden, plate show- 
ing 42 

Broad Brook reservoir, Cheshire, fea- 
tures of 46 

Cathole Brook, Berlin and Meriden, 

area drained by 23, 45-46 

Cathole Gorge, Meriden, cliff of trap 

in, plate showing 42 

Chestnut Brook, Cromwell, power 

from 37 

Chestnut Mountain, Middletown, 

height of 64 

Clay, occurrence of 26,28,38 

154445 °— 20 6 



Page. 

Climate of the area 8 

Coginchaug River, Middlefield and 
Middletown, area 

drained by 55-56, 65 

discharge from 37, 56, 65 

Composition of ground waters of the 

area 19-21 

Connecticut, map of, showing areas 
covered by water-sup- 
ply papers 6 

Connecticut River, areas drained 

by 36-37, 64, 76 

tide in 7,36,64 

transportation on 8, 36, 64 

Cooperation, by State of Connecticut 
and the U. S. Geolog- 
ical Survey 5 

Cromwell, drainage of-; 36 

geology of 34-35 

ground waters in, analyses of 40 

historical sketch of 32-33 

land and water in, area of 33 

population and industries of 33-34 

springs in, features and records 

of 39,40 

surface features of 35-36 

water supplies in 37-39 

wells in, records of 39—40 

Cromwell Water Co., plant and op- 
erations of 37-38 

Dikes, exposures of 11, 43, 46 

Dinsmore, S. C, analyses by 20, 

32, 40, 52, 59, 72, 78 
Dividend Brook, Cromwell and Rocky 

Hill, areas drained by_ 36, 76 

Drainage of the area 7 

Drift, stratified, near Harbor Brook, 

Meriden, plate showing- 12 

stratified, water in 13, 15-17 

wells in 27-28, 

38, 47, 56, 67-68, 76-77 

East Berlin, industries of 23 

location of 21,22 

Esker near Baileyville, plate show- 
ing 12 

Eskers, occurrence of 12 

Fall Brook, Middletown, flow of 65 

Field work, record of 5-6 

Foster, Merriam & Co., Meriden, 

deep well of 48 

81 



82 



INDEX. 



Geography of the area 7-8 

Geology of the area 10-13 

map showing In pocket. 

See also the several towns. 
Girls, State Industrial Home for, 

location of 62 

State Industrial Home for, 

water supply of 67 

Glacial, deposits, character of, as 

water bearers 6 

deposition of 11 

map of the Meriden area show- 
ing In pocket. 

Glaciation, effects of 12-13, 

26-27, 46, 55, 63, 75 
Goff Brook, Rocky Hill, areas drained 

by 74, 76 

Granite, water in 14 

Hallmere reservoir, Meriden, loca- 
tion of 46 

Hanging Hills, Berlin and Meriden, 

plate showing 8 

situation and height of 7, 23, 44 

structure of 42-43 

Hanover Pond, Meriden, flow into 45, 46 

Harbor Brook, Meriden, area drained 

by ._ 45 

boulder-strewn field near, plate 

showing 42 

drift near, plate showing 12 

Harts Ponds, Berlin, water stored in_ 25 
Higby Mountain, Middlefield and Mid- 

dletown, geology of- 42-43, 63 

height of 55,64 

Higby Mountain reservoir, analyses 

of water from 67 

location and capacity of 53, 66, 67 

Highland, Middletown, location of__ 59 

History, geologic, of the area 10-11 

Hog Brook, Rocky Hill, area drained 

by 76 

Industries of the area 8 

Insane, State Hospital for the, Mid- 
dletown, location of 62 

State Hospital for the, water 

supply of 67 

International Silver Co., Meriden, 

deep well of 48 

Kenmere reservoir, Meriden, location 

of 46 

Kensington, industries of 23 

location of 21,22 

Lamentation Mountain, Middletown, 
Berlin, and Meriden, 

geology of 63 

location of 23, 44, 64 

Laurel Brook, Middlefield and Mid- 
dletown, area drained 
by 53,55 

Laurel Brook reservoir, analyses of 

water from 67 

location and capacity of 53, 66, 67 

Lead, mining of, in Middletown 62 



Page. 
Map of Connecticut, showing areas 
covered by water-sup- 
ply papers 6 

Maps of Meriden area In pocket. 

Maromas station, Middletown, loca- 
tion of 59 

surface features near 64 

Mattabesset River, areas drained by_ 7, 23- 
24, 37, 64-65, 76 
Meetinghouse Brook, Meriden, area 

drained by 46 

Meriden, drainage of 45-46 

geology of 42-44 

ground waters in, analyses of 52 

historical sketch of 40-41 

land and water in, areas of 43 

population and industries of 41-42 

springs in, features and records 

of : 49,51 

surface features of 44-45 

water supplies of 25, 46-49 

wells in, records of 49-51 

Meriden area, maps of In pocket. 

Meriden Curtain Fixture Co., deep 

well of 48 

Merimere reservoir, Meriden, capac- 
ity of 46 

Middlefield, drainage of 55-56 

geology of 54-55 

ground waters in, analyses of ; 59 

historical sketch of 52 

land and water in, areas of 52—53 

population and industries of_ 53-54, 56 
springs in, features and records 

of 57,58 

surface features of : 55 

water supplies of 56-57 

wells in, records of 57-58 

Middletown, drainage of 64-66 

geology of 62-64 

ground waters in, analyses of — 71-72 

historical sketch of 59 

land and water in, areas of 60 

population and industries of 60-62 

spi'ings in, features and records 

of 69,71 

surface features of 64 

water supplies of 66-69 

wells in, records of 69-71 

Miller, Edward, Co., Meriden, deep 

wells of 48 

Minerals contained in ground waters 

of the area 19-21 

Palmer, H. S., cited 17 

Pameachea Brook, course and utiliza- 
tion of 65, 67 

Parker, Charles, Co., Meriden, deep 

well of 48-49 

Peat, occurrence of 36 

Plainville, yield of wells in drift in_ 17 

Precipitation in the area 8, 9 

Publications, earlier, record of 5 

Pumps, kinds and placing of 18 



INDEX. 



83 



Page. 

Quality of ground waters 19-21 

Quinnipiac Kiver, Meriden, area 

drained by 7, 4. r >, 4t\ 

power from 45 

Ragged Mountain, height of 23 

Railroads in the area 8 

Belief of the area 7, 10-11 

Reports, earlier, record of 5 

Rivers of the area 7 

cutting by, and diversion of 12 

Rock Falls. Middlefield, population 

of 52 

Rocks, succession of 6-7 

water in 14 

Rocky Hill, drainage of 76 

geology of 74-75 

ground water in, analysis of__ 78 

historical sketch of 72-73 

land and water in, areas of 73 

population and industries of__ 73-74 
springs in, features and rec- 
ords of 78,80 

surface features of 75 

water supplies of 76-7S 

wells in, records of 78-80 

Sandstone, water in 15 

wells in 29,39, 

47-48, 57, 68-69, 77-78 
Shipman Hill, Rocky Hill, features 

of 75,76 

South Mountain, Berlin and Meri- 
d e n , location and 

height of 23,44 

Springs, analyses of water from — 19-21, 

40, 52, 72 

features and records of 29, 31, 

39, 40, 49, 51, 57, 58, 69, 71, 78, 80 



Page. 
Sumner Brook, Middletown, area 

drained by 64,65-66 

Tide, points reached by, in rivers- 7, 36, 76 

Till, water in 13, 15, 16 

wells in___ 28-29, 38-39, 47, 57, 68, 77 

Towns and cities of the area 8 

Transportation in the area 8 

Trap rock, deposition and thick- 
ness of 10, 11 

in Cathole Gorge, Meriden, 

plate showing 42 

position and structure of__ 25—26, 34— 
35, 42-43, 54-55, 62-63, 74, 75 

water in 14 

wells in 29, 57, 68-69, 77-78 

Water-supply papers, areas covered 
by, map of Connecti- 
cut showing In pocket. 

earlier, record of 5 

Webster Brook, Berlin, area drained 

by 25 

Wells, casing of 18 

map of the Meriden area show- 
ing In pocket. 

screens for, cleaning of 18 

making of 18 

spacing of, in gangs 17-18 

Westfield, Middletown, location of — 59 

West Peak, Meriden, height of 44 

Willow Brook, Berlin, area drained 

by 24-25 

Woodlands, map of the Meriden 

area showing In pocket. 

mapping of 7 

nature and extent of 8, 22, 

23, 33, 36, 41, 52, 60 



o 



> 



ill 449 PLATE II 



H ; v \ — 1 




EXPLANATION 



Stratified drift 






GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER-W9 PLATE II 




EXPLANATION 



7^ 



Sandstone out crop 



"Trap" outrrnpB 

(Including diabase dike 

south of Meriden) 






Quarry 

Note. Number in red is number 
ol the well or spring. 
Number in blue is depth 
to water, in feet, in May, 1916. 



t l ■■- fro n U S Geological Survey topograph 



MAP OF THE MERIDEN AREA, CONNECTICUT 

Showing glacial deposits , rocfc outcrops, and the location oi typical wells and springs 

By ii A Waring 

Scale I:«2.500 



Surveyed in 1915 



r..,, T „, inti i il20fi . 



449 PLATE III 








is (PI. XIX of the 
[rt cf the U. S. Geological 
7) modified slightly by 
Robinson (Preliminary 
ticut, 1906) 



)NG LINE u 



EXPLANATION 



"Upper" sandstone 



I 



r,l-;nl.in.|CA1. Sl'UVEV 



WATEH- SUPPLY PAPKH449 PLATE m 




GEOLOGIC MAP AND STRUCTURE SECTIONS OF THE MERIOEN AREA. CONNECTICU 



FPLY PAPER 449 PLATE IV 




U s, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER SUPPLY PAPER 449 PLATE IV 




MAP OF THE MERIDEN AREA, CONNECTICUT, SHOWING WOODLANDS 



Woodland areas by G- A. Waring, 1915 



1920. 



(■EL— 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



019 953 664 3 



